BULLETIN  OF  THE 

DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  WELFARE 

CITY  OF  CHICAGO 

LOUISE  OSBORNE  ROWE,  Commissioner 


Department  Serial  Number  S 


LOAN  SHARK  NUMBER 


November,    1916 


VOL.  I 


NO.  4 


BULLETIN  OF  THE 


Department  of  Public  Welfare 
City  of  Chicago 


LOUISE  OSBORNE  ROWE,  Commissioner 


Publi'shi-d  monthly  foi   Circulation  amon?  the  Municipal  Officials  Social  Aeencies  and  Social  Workers 

of  Chicago 

K05  City  Hall  Square  Bldg.,  Telephone  Contra!  7707 
Open  9  A.  M.  to  o  P.  M.;  Saturdays  to  12M 

VALERIA  D.  McDERMOTT,  Editor 


Vol.  I  NOVEMBER,  1916  No.  4 


FOREWORD 


The  Commissioner  regrets  the  delay  in  the  publication  of  the 
November  Bulletin  of  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare.  This 
delay  may  be  attributed  to  the  enormous  task  of  securing  the 
vast  amount  of  material  contained  in  the  survey  of  loan  sharks, 
and  compiling  the  loan  shark  catalogue. 

The  appreciation  of  the  social  agencies  and  the  public,  as  evi- 
denced by  the  increasing  number  of  applications  for  all  issues 
of  the  Bulletin,  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  the  Commissioner, 
and  it  is  sincerely  regretted  that  the  present  demand  cannot  be 
met  by  the  Department,  the  absence  of  funds  being  entirely  re- 
sponsible for  the  refusal  of  many  requests. 

The  Commissioner  desires  to  thank  the  readers  of  the  Bul- 
letin for  their  favorable  comment  and  words  of  encouragement. 

LOUISE  OSBORNE  ROWE, 
Commissioner. 


ANNOUNCEMENTS. 

(Social  Agencies) 

SOCIAL  SERVICE  CLUB. 

The  November  meeting  of  the  Social  Service  Club  will  be 
held  at  the  City  Club,  315  Plymouth  Court,  Monday,  December 
18,  1916.  All  reservations  must  be  made  in  writing  and  deliv- 
ered to  the  City  Club  by  noon  of  the  day  of  the  meeting.  Can- 
cellations may  be  made  to  the  operator  (Harrison  8278)  until 
noon  of  the  same  day. 

Professor  Scott  Nearing,  Dean,  Toledo  University,  will  be 
the  speaker  of  the  Meeting.  His  subject  will  be: 

The  Social  Worker  and  the  Social  Problem. 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 

(Department  of  Public  Welfare.) 

The  Department  of  Public  Welfare  is  engaged  in  preparing  for  publication 
the  1917  Social  Service  Directory.  A  directory  of  social  workers  of  Chicago  will 
be  a  new  feature  of  this  edition.  All  agencies  and  social  workers  are  urged  to 
co-operate  in  making  the  Directory  a  complete  and  useful  handbook.  Returning 
promptly  questionnaires  and  forms  sent  to  the  agencies;  notifying  the  Bureau  of 
Information  of  new  organizations  and  agencies  in  the  field,  or  of  changes  in 
existing  organizations;  suggesting  from  experience  in  using  the  directory  how 
it  could  be  made  more  comprehensive  and  useful,  are  ways  of  co-operating. 


The  Commissioner  kindly  requests  the  Superintendents  of  social  agencies 
receiving  the  Monthly  Bulletin  to  circulate  it  among  their  staff.  A  number 
of  social  workers  connected  with  agencies  receiving  the  Bulletin  have  asked 
for  individual  copies,  but,  owing  to  the  fact  that  our  mailing  list  covers  the 
entire  monthly  edition,  it  is  impossible  to  supply  any  agency  with  more  than 
one  copy  until  such  time  as  the  edition  is  increased. 


The  Study  of  Family  Desertion,  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  pre- 
vious issues  of  the  Bulletin,  has  been  published  and  is  ready  for  distribution. 
As  the  edition  is  a  limited  one,  it  is  not  possible  to  supply  all  those  on  the 
monthly  mailing  list  with  copies.  A  special  mailing  list  has  been  prepared 
from  the  requests  for  copies  received  by  Dr.  Eubank  and  the  Department,  and  the 
remaining  copies  will  be  sent,  as  long  as  the  supply  lasts,  to  those  making  spe- 
cial application. 


After  the  publication  of  the  Otcober  Bulletin,  it  was  discovered  that  the 
list  of  references  on  pages  35,  36  and  37  were  accredited  to  the  Journal  of 
Associations  of  Engineering  Societies  instead  of  the  "Metal  Worker,  Plumber 
and  Steamfitter."  We  regret  this  error. 


The  Loan  Shark 

in  Chicago 


A  Survey  made  by  the  Bureau  of  Social  Surveys 

Department  of  Public  Welfare 

City  of  Chicago 


THE  LOAN  SHARK  IN  CHICAGO 

By 

Karle   Kdwnrd    Kuliaiik,   I'h.   I). 

INTRODUCTION. 

During  July  of  1915  the  Bureau  of  Information  was  established  as  an  activity 
of  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare  in  order  to  meet  in  a  constructive  way  the 
constantly  increasing  demand  upon  it  for  legal  advice  and  general  relief  from 
persons  unfamiliar  with  the  Department's  real  functions.  In  dealing  with  the 
applicants  for  assistance,  one  of  the  most  important  as  well  as  most  perplexing 
problems  encountered  was  that  ever-present  one  of  the  self-respecting,  heretofore 
independent,  man  or  woman  who,  through  illness,  industrial  depression,  sea- 
sonal occupation,  or  some  other  cause,  had  fallen  into  temporary  unemploy- 
ment and  was  feeling,  through  no  personal  fault,  the  cramp  of  actual  need. 
With  any  small  savings  consumed  and  no  negotiable  credit  to  fall  back  on, 
many  such  persons  had  reached  the  poverty  line  and  had  come  to  the  De- 
partment pitifully  appealing  for  a  small  loan  to  tide  over  the  emergency  and 
to  save  them  from  the  humiliation  of  asking  charity.  Many  of  these  could 
return  to  work  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  season;  others  were  capable 
persons  whose  references  and  prospects  of  securing  work  were  good.  In  no 
sense  could  they  be  classified  as  paupers  at  the  time  of  their  appeal. 

To  all  such  requests  the  Department  was  compelled  to  turn  a  deaf  ear, 
for  its  purposes  have  not  been,  and  are  not  intended  to  be,  those  of  a  remedial 
loan  association  or  bureau  for  general  relief;  but  worse  than  being  obliged  to 
make  refusal  to  these  petitioners,  the  Department  was  compelled  to  tell  many 
of  them  that  there  was  no  place  in  the  City  of  Chicago  to  which  they  could 
safely  turn  for  this  kind  of  assistance.  Had  they  been  able  to  furnish  a  wage 
assignment,  backed  up  by  a  good  record  of  employment,  there  would  have  been 
recourse  to  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society.  Had  they  been  able 
to  furnish  pawnable  security,  the  First  State  Fawners'  Society  might  have 
afforded  a  solution.  In  the  absence  of  both  of  these,  two  courses  remained — 
to  throw  themselves  on  charity  or  to  accept  the  friendly  offices  of  the  profes- 
sional money  lender,  who  would  advance  money  provided  they  could  offer  satis- 
factory chattels  as  security. 

All  too  often  the  latter  of  these  alternatives  was  chosen  as  the  lesser 
of  the  two  evils.  The  professional  usurer  waxes  prosperous  not  merely  upon 
tribute  paid  by  the  unthrifty,  improvident  and  foolish;  thousands  who  are 
victims  of  misfortune  only,  add  to  his  coffers.  Sometimes  seeing  no  other 
way  out,  they  put  themselves  into  his  power  knowingly.  More  often  they  do 
it  ignorantly,  led  afield  by  auspicious  promises,  and  the  law  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  as  it  stands  at  present,  lends  small  comfort  to  any  one  who  has  been 
thus  victimized. 

The  repeated  experiences  of  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare  in  dealing 
with  persons  having  this  particular  type  of  need  have  borne  in  upon  it  re- 
peatedly the  necessity  for  a  changed  condition  in  this  city.  Out  of  this  con- 
viction the  following  survey  has  come.  Its  purpose  has  been  three-fold: 

1.  To  present  a  concrete  array  of  facts  concerning  the  activities  of  the 
professional  money  lender  in  Chicago  which  will  serve  to  educate  the  public 
to   the   necessity  of  eliminating   him   from   the   community; 

2.  To  suggest  ways  and  mean  by  which  this  elimination  may  be  accom- 
plished;   and 

3.  To  suggest  measures  for  meeting  in  a  constructive  way  the  very  real 
need  for  legitimate  substitutes  for  the  loan  shark. 

The  study  has  been  undertaken  after  consultation  with  and  with  the  advice 
of  Mr.  Marvin  B.  Pool,  President  of  the  Industrial  Club  of  Chicago,  and  Mr. 
Daniel  P.  Trude,  Attorney,  who  for  two  years  was  in  charge  of  the  Loan  Shark 
Campaign  conducted  by  the  Chicago  Tribune. 

To  Mr.  Trude  and  to  Mr.  Orville  W.   Lee,   the   Department  desires  espe- 


cially  to  express  indebtedness  for  the  manifold  ways  in  which  they  have  per- 
sonally assisted  the  study  as  it  has  gone  forward  and  for  the  materials  which 
they  have  made  available  for  our  examination. 

Grateful  acknowledgment  must  also  be  made  for  the  generous  way  in  which 
the  Legal  Aid  Society  and  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  of 
Chicago  have  responded  to  the  somewhat  exacting  demands  which  have  been 
made  upon  their  files  and  records,  as  well  as  upon  the  time  of  their  office 
forces. 

Specific  mention  should  be  made  of  the  personal  assistance  rendered  by 
Mrs.  William  E.  Boyes,  Superintendent,  and  Mr.  Guy  M.  Blake,  for  a  time  the 
loan  shark  attorney,  for  the  Legal  Aid  Society;  by  Mr.  Arthur  E.  Hill,  General 
Manager  of  the  First  State  Industrial;  and  by  Mr.  Samuel  Wolfort,  Manager  of 
the  First  State  Fawners'  Society.  Valuable  materials  as  well  as  constructive 
suggestions  have  been  received  from  Mr.  Arthur  H.  Ham,  Director  of  the 
Division  of  Remedial  Loans  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation. 

For  obvious  reasons  mention  can  not  be  made  by  name  of  the  several 
members  and  ex-members  of  the  loan  shark  fraternity  itself  who  have  freely 
given  information  from  the  inside  as  to  the  technique  of  the  loan  shark  busi- 
ness. Nevertheless,  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare  wishes  publicly  to  in- 
clude its  acknowledgments  to  them,  as  well  as  to  the  others  who  have  been 
mentioned. 

The  field  work  of  the  survey  has  been  performed  by  Mabel  E.  Gregg,  In- 
vestigator of  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare.  To  her  belongs  credit  for  the 
statistics  and  tabulations  on  the  loan  shark  situation  in  Chicago  which  are  pre- 
sented from  time  to  time;  and  especially  for  the  materials  which  are  presented 
in  the  Loan  Shark  Directory. 


I.  WHAT  IS  A  LOAN  SHAEK?   - 

At  one  time  or  another  there  comes  to  most  men  the  urgent  necessity  for 
securing  in  some  way  a  small  sum  of  ready  money  to  tide  over  an  emergency. 
At  such  times  those  are  fortunate  who  have  friends  that  can  be  pressed  into 
service,  property  which  can  afford  security,  personal  credit  which  can  be  util- 
ized, or  salary  which  can  be  drawn  in  advance;  but  many  persons  are  not  so 
fortunately  placed,  and  in  their  extremity  feel  obliged  to  patronize  some  pro- 
fessional money  lender  whenever  it  is  necessary  to  obtain  relief  from  the 
financial  pressure  of  the  moment. 

In  practically  every  city  and  large  town  of  the  United  States  there  exist 
men  who  make  a  business  of  exploiting  the  financial  needs — real  or  fancied — 
of  individuals  who  have  no  other  recourse  which  they  are  able  or  willing  to 
utilize.  Not  content  with  the  reasonable  profit  of  a  legitimate  business,  these 
professional  money  lenders  use  the  urgent  necessity  of  their  patrons  to  exact 
from  them  in  illegal  ways  usurious  rates  of  interest,  extortionate  fees  and 
special  charges,  mounting  up  in  some  cases  to  hundreds  of  per  cent,  a  year. 
They  have,  in  many  instances  as  well  organized  companies,  built  up  a  systematic 
technique  of  business,  none  the  less  effective  because  contrary  to  law.  Elab- 
orate devices  for  holding  old  trade  and  securing  new,  reprehensible  ways  of  col- 
lecting illegal  charges,  skillful  processes  for  evading  the  law — these  are  worked 
out  with  consummate  skill. 

To  this  class  of  money  lenders  popular  speech  has  applied  the  descriptive 
term  "loan  shark,"  an  unmistakable  phrase  which  has  found  a  place  for  itself 
in  our  common  language  before  it  has  in  the  dictionary. 

The  question  of  usury  is  not  a  new  one.  It  is  almost  as  old  as  the  human 
race  itself;  certainly  as  old  as  any  financial  system.  In  earlier  periods  of  his- 
tory, interest  and  usury  were  used  as  synonymous  terms,  and  any  one  who 
attempted  to  extract  a  fee  for  the  use  of  a  loan  was  looked  upon  as  immoral. 
An  interesting  statement  of  the  ancient  aspects  of  usury  laws  was  presented 
by  Mr.  A.  D.  Baldwin,  before  the  third  annual  convention  of  the  National 
Federation  of  Remedial  Loan  Associations  in  1912: 


"Aristotle  and  Plato  condemned  interest;  Solon  passed  laws  against 
it  As  early  as  547  B.  C.  the  rate  of  interest  was  fixed  at  five  per  cent. 
The  result,  however,  of  the  Roman  law  was  that  it  was  found  to  be  im- 
practical, and  it  was  raised  in  89  B.  C.  to  twelve  per  cent.  The  next  de- 
velopment in  the  interest  of  a  debtor  was  the  first  bankruptcy  law,  which 
was  enacted  by  Julius  Caesar;  Justinian  in  A.  D.  533,  classified  rates  of  in- 
terest according  to  the  rank  or  business  engaged  in  by  the  borrower.  Some 
could  receive  twelve  per  cent.,  some  eight,  some  six  and  some  four. 

"In  the  middle  ages  in  England,  the  canonical  law  condemned  interest 
of  any  kind,  and  in  the  time  of  Henry  III  Parliament  made  the  exaction  of  a 
fixed  charge  unlawful.  Of  course  there  were  many  methods  practiced  of 
evading  so  impractical  a  law,  just  as  all  usury  laws  have  always  been 
evaded. 

"In  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  in  England  the  rate  was 
restricted  to  ten  and  eight  per  cent,  at  different  times.  In  France,  Turgot 
in  1769  wrote  his  essay  on  'The  Price  of  Money,'  in  which  he  defended  the 
practise  of  leaving  the  borrower  and  lender  to  make  their  own  bargains. 
It  was  due  largely  to  the  influence  of  his  work  that  at  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution France  abolished  all  restriction  on  interest." 


Varieties  of  Loan  Shark. 

In  general,  two  classes  of  loan  shark  may  be  differentiated:  First,  the 
chattel  loan  broker,  who  takes  as  security  mortgages  on  furniture  and  house- 
hold goods  or  on  some  personal  property  of  the  borrower;  second,  the  salary 
loan  broker,  who  takes  as  security  an  assignment  of  the  wages  of  the  borrower. 
Often  the  two  will  be  combined  in  a  single  transaction.  Where  the  salary 
broker  can  do  so  he  makes  himself  doubly  secure  by  taking  a  chattel  assignment 
in  addition  to  the  salary  assignment. 

There  are  numerous  varieties  of  these  two  classes.  Many  business  houses, 
especially  jewelry  and  clothing  establishments  which  advertise  easy  credit,  do  so 
by  making  an  enormous  interest  charge  in  one  form  or  another  for  the  favor. 
Certain  furniture  houses  are  particular  offenders  in  this  respect.  While  adver- 
tising to  "sell"  furniture  on  installments,  the  person  who  is  so  unfortunate  as 
to  fail  to  meet  a  payment,  discovers  that  the  paper  which  he  signed  when 
he  secured  the  goods  was  in  reality  a  chattel  mortgage  making  over  to  the 
furniture  house  all  of  the  goods  purchased,  a  mortgage  including  a  generous 
interest  charge,  which  is  in  effect  until  the  last  cent  is  paid  on  the  whole.  If 
the  mortgage  is  foreclosed,  not  only  does  the  furniture  go  back  to  the  store, 
but  the  firm  frequently  sues  for  the  balance  due  on  the  furniture.  To  make 
payment,  more  secure,  wage  assignments  may  be  taken  which  may  subsequently 
be  used  to  compel  the  purchaser  to  complete  the  transaction.  Or,  if  not  a 
mortgage,  the  purchaser  may  discover  that  he  has  signed  a  lease  for  the  furni- 
ture, a  mere  agreement  to  pay  certain  rent  periodically  for  the  use  of  the  goods, 
the  transaction  not  to  constitute  a  purchase  until  the  full  amount  is  paid. 

Some  concerns  are  a  little  more  open  in  their  presentations.  Instead  of 
extending  credit,  they  offer  to  lend  their  customers  (at  illicit  rates)  money  "to 
purchase  for  cash"  what  they  want. 

Som£  loan  brokers  operate  as  savings  banks.  Some  operate  as  pawn  brokers 
under  the  sign  of  the  three  balls,  charging  no  interest  whatsoever  upon  the 
amount  loaned,  but  substituting  therefor  a  written  agreement  to  re-sell  to  the 
pledger  within  a  specified  time  the  article  pawned.  The  re-selling  price  will  be 
a  distinct  advance  over  the  amount  loaned,  ordinarily  at  least  ten  per  cent  a 
month.  In  this  way,  if  a  redemption  does  not  take  place  for  six  months,  then 
the  price  at  which  the  lender  agrees  to  re-sell  has  advanced  sixty  per  cent. 
In  this  way  the  laws  against  over-charge  of  interest  may  be  avoided.  The 
transaction  technically  has  been  one  of  purchase  and  sale,  with  the  purchaser 
free  to  buy  back  or  not,  just  as  he  chooses,  with  the  statement  of  interest 
appearing  nowhere  in  the  transaction  at  all. 

From  these  few  references  it  may  be  seen  that  loan  shark  methods  and 


cruel  extortion  are  not  confined  strictly  to  money  lenders.  A  further  study 
should  be  made  of  the  methods  used  by  the  Chicago  installment  and  credit 
houses  and  by  the  pawnbroker  establishments.  Because  of  the  vastness  of 
the  field,  the  present  inquiry  has  not  extended  far  outside  of  the  two  main 
types  first  indicated,  viz.,  the  regular  chattel  and  salary  loan  brokers,  whose 
transactions  are  out  and  out  loans,  and  not  confused  by  matters  of  purchase 
and  sale. 

H.  THE  LOAN  SHARK  IN  CHICAGO. 

Extent  of  the   Business. 

Obviously  a  business  which  is  so  questionable  in  character  avoids  pub- 
licity. For  this  reason  accurate  statistics  as  to  its  extent  can  not  be  given. 
Mr.  Arthur  H.  Ham,  Director  of  the  Division  of  Remedial  Loans  of  the  Russell 
Sage  Foundation,  in  his  address  before  the  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Corrections  in  1911  gave  some  conclusions  on  this  point  based  upon  some 
investigations  then  recent.  Boston,  with  a  population  of  about  700,000,  less  than 
a  third  that  of  Chicago,  was  estimated  to  have  one  hundred  professional  money 
lenders  and  one  hundred  thousand  borrowers.  Portland  (Maine),  with  a  popu- 
lation of  60,000,  had  twelve  usurers;  Syracuse,  with  a  population  of  140,000,  has 
twenty-four.  Atlanta  (Georgia),  with  a  population  of  155,000,  had  fifty-eight 
In  general,  his  investigations  showed  with  fair  conclusiveness  that  in  every  city 
of  more  than  30,000  population,  one  usurer  would  be  found  to  every  five  to  ten 
thousand,  and  approximately  five  borrowers  to  every  one  hundred  of  the  popula- 
tion, or  about  twenty  per  cent  of  the  number  who  vote. 

Mr.  Arthur  E.  Hill,  Manager  of  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan 
Society,  in  a  statement  before  the  1914  convention  of  the  National  Federation 
of  Remedial  Loan  Association,  stated:  "Chicago  has  long  been  known  by  all 
the  money  lenders  as  the  safest  and  most  liberal  city  in  the  United  States  in 
which  to  operate.  For  that  reason,  the  loan  companies  are  probably  more  nu- 
merous there  than  in  any  other  city." 

That  Chicago  is  especially  favored  by  usurers  is  due  not  merely  to  the  fact 
that  business  here  is  good,  but  owing  to  the  additional  fact  that  the  state  law 
is  such  that  the  business  can  be  operated  practically  free  of  risk.  While  the 
highest  contract  rate  of  interest  which  may  be  charged  is  only  seven  per  cent 
(except  by  special  companies  organized  under  special  enactment  for  remedial 
loan  purposes  as  will  be  described  further  on  in  this  report),  the  law  entirely 
neglects  to  fix  a  penalty  for  charging  a  higher  rate.  The  victim,  if  he  employs 
his  full  legal  rights,  can  save  nothing  more  than  the  interest.  Aside  from 
that,  no  punishment  can  be  meted  out  to  the  extortioner,  as  the  law  stands  at 
present,  for  any  exaction  in  excess  of  seven  per  cent.  This  makes  the  busi- 
ness safe,  for  the  lender  knows  that  an  insignificant  minority  of  his  patrons 
are  aware  of  their  rights  under  the  law;  and  it  has  been  held  by  the  local 
courts  that  he  may  not  even  recover  interest  after  it  has  been  paid,  provided 
it  can  be  shown  that  he  paid  it  voluntarily  at  the  time,  even  though  it  has  been 
usurious. 

One  of  the  main  purposes  of  the  present  study  has  been  to  discover  the 
extent  of  the  business  in  Chicago.  Weeks  have  been  spent  in  investigation 
and  in  running  down  clews  of  many  varieties  in  an  attempt  to  locate  as  many 
individual  operators  in  the  city  as  possible.  It  is  too  much  to  suppose  that 
we  have  located  them  all,  and  ours  does  not  claim  to  be  an  exhaustive  list 
Our  efforts,  however,  have  brought  to  light  229  separate  concerns,  139  of  which 
were  actively  engaged  in  business  November  1,  1916.  Of  this  number,  cases 
of  actual  extortion  are  on  file  against  199  (some  of  which  have  ceased  to 
operate  as  such;  some  of  which  have  been  combined  with  other  companies), 
and  against  the  others  the  circumstantial  evidence  is  conclusive.  This  list, 
with  a  statement  concerning  each,  appears  in  this  report  as  Appendix  A,  "A 
Loan  Shark  Directory."  No  addresses  are  published  for  two  reasons.  First,  the 
Department  of  Public  Welfare  is  not  engaged  in  prosecuting  specific  cases,  but 
is  attempting  to  lay  the  foundation  for  constructive  measures  against  the  loan 
shark  fraternity  as  a  whole;  second,  to  make  public  a  list  of  addresses  would 


oe  to  give  extensive  advertising  to  the  firms  which  might  be  turned  to  their 
advantage  in  a  business  way,  and  so  militate  against  the  very  end  which  the 
Department  is  seeking  to  reach.  The  Department,  in  its  formal  recommenda- 
tions, makes  them  with  reference  to  illicit  money  lending  as  a  business,  not 
as  an  attack  upon  individual  persons  or  companies. 

The  complete  list,  with  full  information,  is,  however,  on  file  at  the  office 
of  the  Department,  where  it  is  public  property  and  at  the  disposal  of  any 
person  who  may  have  a  legitimate  concern  in  seeing  it. 

While  the  extent  of  the  list  as  compiled  coincides  closely  with  the  state- 
ment of  Mr.  Ham  as  to  the  ratio  of  loan  sharks  to  the  general  population,  we 
have  reason  to  believe  that  the  actual  list,  if  known,  would  be  much  more 
extensive  and  possibly  double.  Most  of  the  139  maintain  fixed  offices  and  office- 
forces  and  are  organized  as  business  concerns;  but  many  companies  have  ceased 
to  do  business  under  old  and  familiar  names  at  well-known  addresses  and  are 
probably  operating  in  new  locations  and  with  new  names,  whom  we  have  been 
unable  to  locate.  How  the  list  would  be  expanded  by  the  addition  of  individuals 
operating  entirely  sub-rosa,  and  from  the  concealment  of  private  residences  or 
offices  ostensibly  devoted  to  other  purposes,  we  have  no  way  of  knowing.  We 
have  reliable  information  to  the  effect  that  there  are  many  men  (and  some 
women)  who  are  operating  profitable  loan-shark  businesses  as  side  lines  under 
cover  of  more  respectable  occupations. 

More  difficult  than  the  task  of  locating  a  loan  shark  in  the  first  instance 
is  that  of  determining  the  extent  of  the  business  which  he  is  doing.  Even 
when  he  is  known  there  is  at  present  no  way  of  getting  at  his  books  to  learn 
the  number  of  customers,  number  of  loans,  average  amount  loaned,  and  other 
items  which  would  be  essential  to  determining  the  volume  of  his  trade  and  the 
size  of  his  profits,  except  through  a  judicial  order  to  bring  him  into  court. 
That  his  earnings  are  enormous  goes  without  saying;  otherwise  the  enter- 
prise would  not  flourish  as  it  does.  A  member  of  the  Loan  Shark  "Clearing 
House"  some  months  ago  stated  that  150,000  would  be  a  conservative  estimate 
of  the  number  of  live  accounts  on  the  books  of  the  members  of  that  organiza- 
tion alone;  and  the  members  of  this  association  are  by  no  means  all  of  the 
known  operators  in  the  city. 

Mr.  Ham,  in  the  address  mentioned,  stated  that  at  that  time  (1911)  the 
amount  of  usury  collected  from  victims  in  New  York  City  was  "twice  as  much 
as  that  required  to  support  the  Charity  Organization  Society,  the  Association 
for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  and 
the  Bellevue  and  Allied  hospitals." 

The  loan  shark  directory,  which  appears  as  Appendix  A,  contains,  after  a 
number  of  the  firms  listed,  a  statement  of  the  approximate  extent  of  business 
done  by  them  annually.  While  this  is  only  an  approximation,  and  for  reasons 
given  not  verifiable  in  all  cases,  it  is  something  considerably  more  than  mere 
guesswork;  it  is  the  estimate  furnished,  for  the  most  part,  by  attorneys  for- 
merly connected  with  the  Tribune  Anti-Loan  Shark  Bureau,  who  have  had  inti- 
mate contact  with  the  concerns  themselves  in  court  or  elsewhere.  They  are 
therefore  in  a  position  to  make  a  more  nearly  accurate  statement  than  can  be 
obtained  anywhere  outside  of  the  ranks  of  the  loan  sharks  themselves.  In  some 
of  the  cases  the  figures  were  made  known  when,  upon  prosecution,  certain  of  the 
firms  were  compelled  to  show  their  books  and  records  in  open  court. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  these  estimates  have  been  verified  for  the  Department 
by  an  ex-manager  of  a  money  lending  firm  which  was  for  over  a  decade  con- 
nected with  the  Chicago  loan  shark  "clearing  house"  and  in  a  position  to 
know  the  inside  of  the  financial  affairs  of  the  leading  firms  operating  in  the 
city.  His  own  firm,  which  he  said  was  not  by  any  means  the  largest,  loaned 
an  aggregate  of  only  about  $70,000  a  year.  The  larger  ones  ran  up  into  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  loaned  annually,  and,  in  his  own  words,  "it  would 
be  very  conservative  to  call  $85,000  the  average  business  done  yearly  by  regu- 
larly organized  firms." 

One  hundred  and  thirty-nine  firms,  operating  in  Chicago  with  an  average 
business  of  $85,000  per  year,  would  mean  a  loan  shark  business  of  at  least 
$11,000,000  a  year  in  this  one  city. 

10 


His  own  firm  he  regarded  as  "conservative,"  being  content  with  an  interest 
of  only  twelve  per  cent  a  month  as  reasonably  satisfactory.  This  enabled  them 
to  double  their  money  every  year  and  left  a  generous  margin  against  loss  and 
to  cover  overhead  expense.  While  some  firms  make  much  less,  he  was  free  to 
say  that  most  of  them  make  much  more.  The  loan  shark  investigation  made 
by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  Pittsburgh,  in  1909,  found  the  rate  of  interest 
to  range  "from  forty  per  cent  in  a  very  few  cases  to  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  per  cent  in  most,  and  in  the  case  of  the  so-called  'renewal'  loans,  to  as 
high  as  several  hundred  per  cent." 

Mr.  Ham  mentions  a  single  company  operating  five  offices  in  one  city  which 
made  a  total  of  forty-five  thousand  loans  in  a  single  year  at  an  average  interest 
charge  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight  per  cent.  Mr.  Isador  Shapiro,  State  Rep- 
resentative of  Jefferson  County,  Alabama,  in  his  crusade  for  loan  shark  legis- 
lation in  that  state,  gives  specific  instances  of  interest  charges  of  forty  per 
cent  a  month.  The  following  is  an  affidavit  of  one  of  these: 

"State  of  Alabama, 
Jefferson  County. 

Before  me,  Nell  Freeman,  a  Notary  Public  in  and  for  said  state  and 
county,  personally  appeared  Monroe  Stewart,  who  being  first  duly  sworn, 
deposes  and  says,  as  follows: 

'My  name  is  Monroe  Stewart,  and  I  live  in  Birmingham,  Ala.  I  have 
lived  here  about  fifteen  years.  For  the  last  three  years  I  have  been  bor- 
rowing money  from,  and  have  been  indebted  to,  Mr.  Hal  J.  Copeland,  ex- 
cept for  about  six  months,  when  I  was  off  the  road.  I  work  for  the 
Alabama  Great  Southern  Railroad,  as  brakeman.  In  March,  1912,  I  bor- 
rowed money  from  Mr.  Hal  J.  Copeland,  and  have  been  indebted  to  him 
ever  since,  except  about  six  months.  On  all  the  money  I  have  borrowed 
from  Mr.  Copeland  I  have  paid  him  twenty  per  cent  interest  every  month, 
and  if  I  did  not  pay  the  money  when  it  was  due,  I  had  to  pay  him  forty 
per  cent,  or  forty  cents  on  the  dollar.  If  I  borrowed  money  the  day  before 
pay  day  and  paid  it  back  the  next  day,  I  would  have  to  pay  twenty  per 
cent  interest  for  that  one  day  just  the  same.  For  the  last  six  or  seven 
months,  I  have  been  paying  him  forty  per  cent  interest  every  month,  because 
I  got  one  month  behind.  Every  month  for  the  last  two  and  a  half  or  three 
years  Mr.  Copeland  has  gotten  my  check  from  the  paymaster,  and  I  have 
been  forced  to  go  and  borrow  money  from  him  to  buy  groceries  with,  and 
have  paid  him  twenty  per  cent  on  all  the  money  borrowed,  and  forty  per 
cent  if  it  was  not  paid  on  the  day  it  was  due.  I  make  between  sixty 
and  seventy  dollars  a  month.  Every  month  Mr.  Copeland  gets  my  check 
and  I  then  go  to  him  and  give  him  another  assignment,  and  he  loans  me 
from  thirty-five  to  fifty  dollars  of  my  money  to  live  on  during  the  month, 
at  twenty  per  cent,  interest.  . 

MONROE  STEWART.' 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  1st  day  of  September,  1915. 

NELL  FREEMAN, 

Notary  Public." 

In  Chicago  the  situation  is  fully  as  deplorable  as  those  uncovered  anywhere. 
Instances  of  exorbitant  interest  charges  of  loan  sharks  here,  supported  by  docu- 
mentary evidence,  could  be  given  almost  without  number.  The  case  of  Mr.  S — , 
which  came  to  the  attention  of  Mr.  Trude,  is  typical  and  will  serve  perhaps 
as  well  as  any  other  by  way  of  illustration: 

"Mr.  S — ,  who  is  a  hard  working  German,  was  receiving  a  salary  of 
about  twelve  dollars  a  week  with  which  to  spuport  his  wife  and  family. 
He  borrowed  $15.00  in  March,  1912.  As  he  could  not  read  or  write  Eng- 
lish, the  papers  were  signed  by  his  mark  and  witnessed  by  the  loan  shark. 
After  he  had  paid  in  about  $15.00  on  the  note  which  he  signed,  his  pay- 
ments began  to  run  behind  and  the  loan  shark  tied  up  his  salary.  The 
agent  then  called  at  the  house  of  Mr.  S —  and  Mr.  S —  not  being  at  home, 

11 


the  loan  shark  representative  told  Mrs.  S—  that  if  she  would  sign  the 
paper  it  would  release  her  husband's  salary.  She  was  not  able  to  read 
English,  but  could  write  a  little,  and  signed  hers  and  her  husband's  name 
on  the  paper.  This  paper  afterwards  proved  to  be  a  new  note  for  $17.00. 
The  loan  shark  continued  to  collect  on  this  last  note  until  his  annoyance 
of  the  employer  caused  Mr.  S —  to  lose  his  position.  He  had  just  begun 
to  work  with  the  new  employer  when  a  fake  assignment  was  filed.  Not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  assignment  was  not  legal,  the  bureau  held  up 
Mr.  S— 's  pay,  and  when  the  victim  went  to  the  bureau,  the  family  was  in 
want  and  the  man  did  not  even  have  car-fare  to  go  home.  Although  the 
loan  shark  insisted  that  this  was  a  new  loan,  and  he  had  loaned  $15.00 
additional,  he  was  glad  to  settle  the  claim  for  $3.00;  and  when  the  victim's 
papers  were  turned  over  to  the  bureau,  it  was  found  that  the  loan  shark 
not  only  had  the  usual  assignment,  but  was  holding  a  $1,000  insurance 
policy  on  the  life  of  Mr.  S — ,  and  a  $260.00  policy  on  the  life  of  Mrs.  S — , 
and  a  $260.00  policy  on  the  life  of  their  child.  The  truth  of  the  matter 
was  that  the  loan  shark  had  loaned  $15.00  and  in  six  months  had  received 
back  $20.00,  and  was  trying  to  take  advantage  of  this  man's  unfamiliarity 
with  the  English  language  to  fleece  him  out  of  $17.00  additional." 

A  genuine  dyed-in-the-wool  loan  shark  apparently  considers  his  business 
to  be  losing  out  unless  he  is  able  at  least  to  double  the  amount  which  he  loans 
every  year.  If  a  conservative  estimate  of  the  139  and  more  organized  loan  busi- 
nesses in  the  city  indicates  them  to  be  loaning  some  eleven  millions  a  year,  the 
conclusion  is  that  at  least  another  eleven  millions  is  extracted  from  the  pockets 
of  the  loan  shark  victims  in  Chicago  every  year.  Compare  this  with  the  statistics 
as  to  relief  issued  by  the  Cook  County  Agent  which  show  that  approxi- 
mately one  person  out  of  every  ten  in  Cook  County  at  one  time  or  another  in  the 
course  of  a  year,  receives  charitable  assistance. 

Of  the  139  firms  discovered  to  be  now  in  active  business  in  Chicago  17 
were  engaged  exclusively  in  the  chattel  loan  business;  73  were  engaged  in 
the  salary  loan  business,  although  many  of  them  make  themselves  doubly  safe  by 
taking  security  on  household  goods  in  addition  to  the  wage  assignment.  Forty- 
nine  of  the  number  were  regularly  making  both  salary  and  chattel  loans. 

Of  the  agencies  found  90  have  loan  shark  records  with  both  the  Legal 
Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society,  organizations  which 
have  carried  on  a  defense  of  loan  shark  victims  from  extortionate  demands 
as  an  active  part  of  their  regular  work.  In  addition  to  these  90  the  Legal  Aid 
Society  has  loan  shark  records  against  61  firms  which  have  no  record  with  the 
First  Industrial,  and  the  First  Industrial  has  loan  shark  records  against  48 
which  have  no  record  with  the  Legal  Aid.  This  makes  a  total  of  199  concerns 
which  have  operated  in  Chicago  in  recent  years  against  whom  the  loan  shark 
evidence  is  complete. 

There  is  something  incongruous  in  the  thought  of  women  taking  part  in 
so  nefarious  a  business,  but  our  investigations  show  that  they  are  among  the 
most  successful  practitioners.  In  20  cases  the  owners  or  proprietors  were  women; 
in  two  additional  cases  women  were  active  managers.  Women  are  actively 
employed  in  more  or  less  responsible  capacities  in  the  office  of  many  others. 

Location  of  Business, 
(according  to  the  last  known  address). 

Several  of  the  concerns  run  two  or  more  loan  offices.  The  229  separate 
agencies  previously  mentioned  were  represented  under  263  names,  distributed 
as  follows: 

In  the  loop  152 

South  Side   39 

West  Side  23 

North  Side   13 

Addresses  uncertain    36 

263 
12 


The  "financial  center"  of  the  business  may  be  located  at  Dearborn  and 
Madison  streets.  Fifty-two  of  the  loop  offices  were  on  Dearborn  within  a  block 
north  or  south  of  Madison;  10  were  in  one  building;  12  in  another,  and  15  in  still 
another. 

The  trade  may  be  further  localized:  25  companies  located  south  of  39th 
street,  5  in  South  Chicago,  8  "back  of  the  yards,"  9  at  or  near  prominent  trans- 
fer points  on  63rd  street,  especially  the  intersection  of  Halsted  and  63rd;  5  in 
or  convenient  to  the  "Black  Belt."  The  fact  that  certain  companies  specialize 
in  loans  to  employes  of  transportation  companies  accounts  for  the  large  num- 
ber of  companies, — 21  altogether, — located  at  or  near  transportation  terminals  or 
junctions. 


m.     TECHNIQUE   OF   THE  LOAN   SHARK   BUSINESS. 

A  cardinal  principle  of  the  loan  shark  business  is  that  it  shall  be  carried 
on  with  as  little  conspicuousness  as  possible.  Numbers  of  designations  are  em- 
ployed with  the  intent  of  concealing  the  true  character  of  the  concern.  Pro- 
fessional usurers  are  found  in  the  Telephone  Directory  under  all  of  the  following 
classifications: 

Investments  and  securities.  Tailors. 

Real  Estate.  Banks. 

Coal  Dealers.  Manufacturers'  Agent. 

Lawyers.  Collections. 

The  loan  shark  "clearing  house"  has  its  headquarters  in  an  office  on 
Dearborn  street,  but  the  glass  door  is  devoid  of  any  business  insignia  whatso- 
ever. "Commercial  paper"  is  a  designation  on  the  office  door  and  the  business 
stationery  of  one  concern.  Among  the  ones  most  difficult  to  reach,  and  most 
harmful,  are  those  which  pose  as  banks  and  use  such  descriptive  terms  as 
"United  States,"  "Peoples,"  "Illinois,"  "Federal,"  "State,"  in  connection  with 
them,  to  give  the  impression  that  they  are  doing  a  regular  banking  business, 
or  are  in  some  way  connected  with  the  government. 

Comparatively  few  loan  shark  companies  are  incorporated,  partly  because 
incorporation  would  necessitate  keeping  indefinitely  the  name  which  is  written 
into  the  charter.  This  would  be  exceedingly  inconvenient  for  some  of  them 
who  make  it  a  practice  to  change  names  from  time  to  time  as  one  grows 
too  unpopular.  Even  with  incorporated  concerns,  permission  is  secured  to  change 
the  name  from  time  to  time. 

The  complete  list  of  229  names  and  addresses  of  money-lenders,  including 
those  in  Appendix  A,  was  sent  by  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  with  a  request  that  his  office  should  indicate  which 
of  them  had  been  incorporated  together  with  the  date  and  purpose  for  which 
chartered.  Of  the  entire  229  only  18  were  found  who  had  been  chartered  in  Illi- 
nois at  any  time,  and  of  the  18  nine  have  already  been  canceled,  in  most  cases 
for  failure  to  file  an  annual  report  as  required  by  law. 

The  purpose  of  incorporation  where  specified  is  worthy  of  note.  The  exact 
wording  of  a  number  of  charters  follows  for  several  illustrative  cases: 

i.  "To  conduct  a  general  lunch-counter,  restaurant  and  hotel  business  and  to 
do  and  perform  all  the  necessary  business  incident  thereto." 

ii.  "For  the  examination  of  titles  to  real  and  personal  estate,  to  furnish 
information  upon  which  to  base  credits,  to  transact  a  general  collection  busi- 
ness." 

iii.     For  the  purpose  of  "manufacturing  and  sale  of  dry-goods." 

iv.  For  the  purpose  of  "carrying  on  the  business  of  buying  and  selling 
bonds  and  other  securities." 

v.  "To  manufacture  and  deal  in  furniture,  stoves,  rugs,  and  all  kinds  of 
household  properties." 

13 


vi.  "For  the  purpose  of  raising,  harvesting  and  dealing  in  leaf  tobacco; 
to  purchase  and  own  real  estate  in  connection  with  said  business,  and  to  transact 
any  legitimate  business  coming  within  the  province  of  this  corporation  as  regards 
the  purchase  and  sale  of  personal  property." 

vii.  For  the  purpose  of  "purchasing  and  presenting  plays  in  carrying  on 
the  theatrical  business." 

Definitely  chartered  for  such  objectives  as  the  foregoing,  various  loan 
firms  freely  use  the  term  "incorporated"  upon  their  printed  matter,  con- 
veying the  impression  that  they  have  been  incorporated  for  loan  purposes 
particularly.  As  a  matter  of  fact  not  a  single  one  of  the  charters  which  were 
recorded  by  the  Secretary  of  State  carries  within  them  any  provision  for  doing 
a  money  lending  business.  Such  concerns  should  be  prevented  by  law  from 
doing  business  in  a  way  which  makes  them  appear  to  be  endorsed  by  the  State. 

Not  one  in  20,  as  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State  shows,  are  incorporated. 
The  business  is  too  shifty  to  desire  permanence  and  fixity  of  name  which  in- 
corporation would  give.  Change  of  name  is  resorted  to  frequently  because  of 
the  unpleasant  connections  which  associate  with  it  after  it  has  been  running 
awhile.  This  gives  it  a  mushroom-like  character  and  complicates  investigation. 
Circulars  appear  every  two  or  three  weeks  advising  the  public  that  a  "new" 
company  has  begun  business  at  such  and  such  an  address.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
the  only  new  thing  about  the  company  is  the  name.  The  management  and 
capital  and  outstanding  claims  of  some  company  that  has  "gone  out  of  business" 
merely  take  up  a  new  designation  and  continue  the  even  tenor  of  their  ways; 
and  verily,  "a  rose  by  any  other  name  would  smell  as  sweet." 


Devices  for  Getting  Business. 

The  success  of  the  money  lending  business,  as  of  any  other,  lies  in  its 
ability  to  get  its  offerings  effectively  before  the  public.  Numerous  ways  exist  of 
doing  this: 

Newspaper  advertising.  In  times  past  the  main  reliance  of  the  loan  shark 
has  been  upon  the  newspapers  which  were  more  concerned  with  the  amount  of 
revenue  to  be  derived  than  with  the  character  of  the  source  of  revenue.  The 
unrestricted  use  of  the  advertising  columns  of  the  widely  read  metropolitan 
daily  is  the  greatest  advertising  privilege  that  a  loan  shark  can  have.  Not  only 
does  an  advertisement  which  appears  there  reach  tens  of  thousands  of  readers, 
but  its  very  presence  there  implies  an  endorsement  of  the  advertiser  to  people 
who  assume  that  their  newspaper  would  not  permit  fraudulent  presentations. 

The  character  of  this  class  of  advertisements  in  themselves  is  such  that 
the  United  States  Government  will  not  permit  them  to  go  through  the  mails. 
One  company  which  is  positively  known  to  charge  not  less  than  120  per  cent  a 
year  advertises  "organiEed  to  help  poor,  honest  working  people  who  cannot  pay 
the  exorbitant  charge  made  by  the  so-called  loan  companies.  Will  loan  you 
all  the  money  you  want  at  5  per  cent  a  year."  Another,  whose  rates  are  from 
10  per  cent  to  12  per  cent  a  month  declares  "you  cannot  beat  the  rates  we  are 
offering;  they  are  positively  the  lowest  in  the  city." 

Sometimes  "blind"  advertisments  are  run,  cleverly  worded,  as  business 
personals  with  no  name  attached.  A  person  may  negotiate  a  loan  without  even 
suspecting  that  he  is  dealing  with  a  professional  loan  company.  The  following 
is  an  example: 

"Retired  business  man  with  surplus  cash,  will  make  loans  to  deserving 
people.     Address:     M21 — Daily  Paper." 

14 


All  of  this  is  in  violation  of  the  State  law,  which  reads  (Kurd's  Revised 
Statutes,  1915-1916,  p.  893): 

"102C.  FRAUDULENT  ADVERTISEMENT — PENALTY.]  §  1.  BE  IT  ENACTED 
BY  THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS.  REPRESENTED  IN  THE  GENERAL 
ASSEMBLY:  That  whoever,  being  any  person,  firm,  corporation  or  associa- 
tion, in  a  newspaper,  periodical,  circular,  form,  letter,  or  other  publication 
published,  distributed  or  circulated  in  this  commonwealth,  in  any  advertise- 
ment in  this  commonwealth,  knowingly  makes  or  disseminates,  or  causes 
to  be  made  or  disseminated,  any  statement  or  assertion  concerning  the 
quantity,  the  quality,  the  value,  the  merit,  the  ability,  the  use,  the  present 
or  former  price,  the  cost,  the  reason  for  the  price,  or  the  motive  or  purpose 
of  a  sale,  of  any  merchandise,  securities  or  services  or  anything  of  value;  or 
concerning  the  method  or  cost  of  production  or  manufacture  of  such  mer- 
chandise; or  the  possession  of  rewards,  prizes,  or  distinctions  conferred  on 
account  of  such  merchandise,  securities,  services,  or  thing  of  value;  or  the 
manner  or  source  of  purchase  of  such  merchandise  or  securities,  or  thing 
of  value  with  intent  to  sell,  or  in  any  wise  dispose  of  such  merchandise, 
securities,  services  or  thing  of  value;  which  is  untrue  or  calculated  to  mis- 
lead, and  known  to  be  so  by  said  person  at  said  time,  shall  be  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  and  on  conviction  be  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  not  more  than 
one  thousand  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  County  Jail  not  exceeding 
sixty  days,  or  by  both  such  fines  and  imprisonment." 

The  advertising  in  the  newspapers  is  skillfully  adapted  to  the  type  of  bor- 
rower to  be  reached.  One  agent  who  recently  died  specialized  in  school-teachers 
depending  on  the  promise  of  the  transactions  being  confidential  to  draw  trade: 
"Only  two  will  know  it,  you  and  " 

Another  makes  an  especial  appeal  to  the  housewife  under  the  caption 
"Loans  to  house-keepers";  people  who  have  been  "victimized  by  the  loan  sharks" 
are  invited  "to  come  to  us;  the  fact  of  your  having  other  loans  will  not  interfere 
with  your  getting  one  here."  Others  are  entreated  to  "lump  your  obligations; 
borrow  enough  from  us  to  pay  off  your  other  creditors."  Still  others  are  appealed 
to  by  the  assurance  of  "no  questions  asked."  "Loans  in  five  minutes,"  "loans 
while  you  wait,"  "no  delay  nor  investigation;  you  take  the  money  with  you," 
"write  us  and  we  will  call  with  the  money"  and  appeals  which  reach  the  im- 
patient and  extravagant.  The  man  who  is  harassed  by  household  necessities 
and  possibly  by  creditors  for  last  year's  bills  is  appealed  to  by  "loans  for  coal," 
"loans  for  rent,"  and  loans  for  every  other  household  obligation  which  can  be 
mentioned.  One  concern  advertises*  a  loan  of  $150.00  to  be  available  to  any  man 
earning  a  salary  of  $12.00  per  week.  Another,  pressing  hard  on  the  "phil- 
anthropic" pedal,  advertises  not  only  money  but  "a  friend"  in  time  of  need. 

Loan  shark  advertising  also  reflects  very  clearly  the  season  of  the  year. 
As  the  summer  vacation  time  approaches  the  public  is  entreated  not  to  deny 
itself  the  luxury  of  an  outing  for  lack  of  funds,  but  to  "travel  at  our  expense." 
As  the  holiday  season  approaches,  the  loan  shark  joins  with  the  over-burdened 
storekeeper  in  urging,  "Do  your  Christmas  shopping  early  and  avoid  the  rush," 
suggesting  his  particular  agency  as  the  one  to  furnish  "loans  for  Christmas 
if  your  funds  are  short";  and  one  company  urges  "don't  spoil  Christmas  by 
being  short  of  a  little  cash." 

Practically  every  paper  published  in  Chicago  prior  to  the  Tribune's  loan 
shark  campaign,  begun  in  1912,  carried  advertising  of  this  character.  The 
last  advertisement  of  this  sort  which  appeared  in  the  Tribune  itself,  was  on 
December  22nd,  1911,  just  before  the  crusade  was  begun.  At  that  time,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Chicago  Examiner,  which  a  few  years  ago  carried  practically 
no  classified  advertisements,  all  papers  were  carrying  advertising  of  this  de- 
scription. The  Chicago  Evening  Post  had  fewer  than  any  except  the  Examiner, 
but  apparently  its  attitude  was  an  open  one,  as  there  was  usually  at  least  one 
advertisement  running. 

From  this,  fluctuating  in  number  and  amount  of  space  according  to  the 
seasons,  the  number  rises  to  as  high  as  56  in  a  single  issue  of  one  paper,  salary 
and  chattel  included,  occupying  from  a  minimum  of  a  fraction  of  a  column  to 

15 


from  3%  to  5  columns  during  the  holidays.  Not  only  do  the  number  of  advertise- 
ments increase  at  certain  seasons,  but  the  number. of  lines  per  advertisement  is 
greater.  Thus  20  advertisements,  counted  at  one  time,  occupying  from  one  to 
two-thirds  of  a  column,  counted  at  another  and  more  favorable  season,  increased 
to  3%  columns. 

Because  this  sort  of  advertisement  comes  to  the  newspapers  voluntarily 
and  with  practically  no  expense  for  solicitation,  it  is  almost  the  cheapest  and  leas* 
expensive  advertising  which  they  run,  and  because  of  the  higher  rate  which  is 
charged,  it  is  especially  profitable.  When  advertising  mounts  up  into  the  hundreds 
of  lines  per  issue,  as  it  may  very  easily  do,  the  revenue  of  the  paper  is  enormous. 
The  loan  shark  committee  of  the  Pittsburgh  Chamber  of  Commerce  reported  a 
total  of  10,954  lines  of  advertising  in  all  the  Pittsburgh  dailies  combined  in  a 
single  week,  and  estimated  an  annual  revenue  to  the  local  papers  of  over 
$30,000.00  a  year  from  that  single  source.  The  monthly  income  of  one  New  York 
paper  alone,  as  reported  by  Mr.  Ham  during  a  three  year  period,  did  not  fall 
below  $1,800.00  in  any  month,  and  rose,  immediately  preceding  the  Christmas 
season  one  year,  to  $6,000.00,  the  average  being  well  over  $3,000.00  monthly. 

It  is  therefore  no  small  financial  sacrifice  which  a  newspaper  makes  when 
it  definitely  renounces  so  lucrative  a  source  of  income.  This  sacrifice,  however, 
has  been  made,  by  most  of  the  Chicago  dailies.  During  the  summer  of  1916  only 
the  Daily  News,  The  Journal  and  the  Examiner  continued  to  carry  loan  shark 
advertising  in  Chicago.  The  Daily  News  has  since  discontinued  them,  but 
the  other  two,  finding  an  open  field  here,  continue  to  receive  them.  The  Sunday 
edition  of  one  of  the  Chicago  newspapers  on  November  12th,  1916,  contained  over 
two  columns  of  loan  advertising,  in  which  were  included  some  of  the  best  known 
loan  shark  firms  in  the  city,  and  firms  against  which  the  records  are  most  exten- 
sive and  incontrovertible. 

Mr.  Edward  Lyell  Fox,  in  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  August  1913 
issue  of  Pearson's  Magazine,  strongly  urged  the  suppression  of  all  loan  shark 
advertising  in  newspapers,  stating  his  conviction  that  the  business  would 
perforce  disappear  through  lack  of  publicity  if  this  were  done.  The  inaccuracy 
of  his  conclusion  is  demonstrated  by  the  flourishing  condition  of  the  business 
in  Chicago.  In  spite  of  the  lack  of  access  to  the  majority  of  newspapers,  they 
continue  to  thrive.  That  this  is  a  great  handicap  is  certainly  true,  and  assuredly 
the  public  has  a  right  to  demand  that  injurious  and  misleading  advertisements 
of  whatever  character  shall  be  excluded  from  all  publications;  but  the  ingenuity 
of  the  loan  shark  finds  many  other  ways  of  getting  business,  as  is  made  clear 
by  the  fact  that  only  a  portion  of  the  loan -sharks  of  the  city  even  now  take 
advantage  of  the  opportunity  which  is  presented  by  the  papers  still  open  to 
them. 

Other  published  forms  of  advertising.  The  newspapers  are  not  the  only 
media  of  loan  shark  advertising.  There  are  probably  few  citizens  of  Chicago 
who  have  not  found  their  mail-boxes  sometimes  pretty  well  filled  up  with  the 
circulars  of  the  loan  companies.  Denied  access  to  the  mails,  they  still  use  the 
family  mail-boxes,  which  are  not  a  part  of  the  United  States  mail  system.  Of 
late  certain  loan  companies  have  taken  to  placing  their  placards  In  the  advertis- 
ing racks  of  the  street  cars.  Personal  cards  and  circulars  are  distributed  on  the 
street  from  time  to  time. 

Personal  solicitation.  The  up-to-date  loan  shark  has  his  personal  solicitors 
out  over  the  city  drumming  up  business.  Some  of  these,  instead  of  dropping 
their  literature  into  the  mail  boxes,  call  at  the  door  and  deliver  it  in  person. 
In  some  of  the  buildings  where  loan  offices  are  located,  the  elevator  men  act 
as  solicitors,  distributing  cards  to  the  elevator  passengers.  These  cards  bear 
their  name  written  in  the  corner,  and  presumably  they  receive  remuneration  for 
the  "prospects"  which  they  secure.  Certain  firms  which  specialize  among  street 
railway  employes  make  it  a  point  to  drop  into  the  barns  where  the  men  are 
assembling  for  the  days  work  to  present  their  business. 

One  of  the  most  effective  methods  of  obtaining  new  business  is  to  secure, 
among  certain  groups  of  workmen,  one  of  the  number  to  act  as  representative 
for  the  loan  shark.  He  will  point  out  prospects  for  the  loan  shark  to  approach, 

16 


or  he  may  himself  offer  to  secure  the  loan  for  his  troubled  fellow-employe  or 
to  direct  him  to  a  source  of  supply.  An  interesting  case  is  the  one  listed  in  the 
Directory  of  the  man  who  is  a  conductor  on  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Rail- 
road, whose  wife  runs  a  money-lending  business,  specializing  among  North- 
western employes.  Doubtless  her  husband's  business  connections  are  worked 
to  their  fullest  advantage. 

The  attorneys  who  have  been  fighting  the  loan  shark  in  Chicago  have  found 
a  very  difficult  proposition  in  the  case  of  certain  of  them  which  have  influence 
over  some  of  the  minor  officials  of  large  corporations.  Mr.  Trucle  gives  one 
case  where  an  employe  of  a  large  railway  made  loans  to  his  fellow-employes, 
and  when  they  were  slow  in  paying  placed  his  account  for  collection  in  the 
hands  of  a  presumably  innocent  third  party  in  another  state  through  which 
the  railroad  ran.  The  man  could  not  go  there  to  defend  the  suit  and  judgment 
was  accordingly  made  against  him  by  default. 

One  of  the  ways  of  getting  new  business  is  to  turn  present  patrons  into 
solicitors  for  further  trade.  A  person  who  owes  money  and  is  having  difficulty 
in  paying  is  allowed  to  reduce  the  amount  by  a  certain  sum,  usually  a  dollar, 
for  every  new  customer  secured. 

Exchange  of  Names.  Frequently  it  occurs  that  a  loan  shark  patron,  having 
redeemed  himself  from  the  clutches  of  a  particular  money-lender,  refuses  to 
become  inveigled  further.  After  being  convinced  that  there  is  nothing  further 
to  hope  for  in  business  from  him,  the  firm  may  turn  him  over  as  a  prospect 
to  some  other  firm  with  which  he  has  had  no  dealings.  Through  this  exchange  of 
courtesies,  a  man  once  in  the  loan  shark's  hands  may,  in  spite  of  every  good  in- 
tention, be  passed  along  from  one  to  another,  until  he  becomes  finally  hopelessly 
entangled. 

Devices  for  Making  Collections. 

The  essence  of  the  power  of  the  loan  shark  over  his  victim,  in  Chicago  as 
everywhere,  is  in  the  victim's  ignorance.  Ignorance,  first,  due  to  carelessness  in 
many  instances  of  the  obligations  which  he  signs  when  he  receives  his  loan; 
second,  ignorance  as  to  what  his  rights  really  are  under  the  law;  third, 
ignorance  as  to  the  means  of  redress  which  are  available  after  he  has  discovered 
the  plight  in  which  he  is.  With  reference  to  the  first  of  these,  the  loan  shark 
system  has  worked  out  an  elaborate  set  of  forms,  guarantees  and  asignments, 
which  the  borrower  is  required  to  sign  before  he  can  get  the  money.  Usually 
he  does  not  read  the  papers  signed,  and  if  he  should  he  would  not  dare  protest, 
for  he  wants  the  money,  and  he  is  made  to  feel  all  the  while  that  the  lender 
is  doing  him  a  personal  favor  by  letting  him  have  it,  and  therefore  he  must  not 
ask  too  many  questions.  He  may  or  may  not  know  it,  but  he  has  probably 
signed  all  the  following  papers:  first,  notes  for  the  money  borrowed  (separate 
notes  for  the  principal  and  interest,  so  that  in  case  he  should  subsequently 
discover  his  rights  and  protest  against  the  interest,  the  note  for  the  principal 
will  appear  as  a  separate  item ) ;  second,  an  assignment  of  his  wages  to  the 
lender  (in  case  of  the  salary  loan  shark)  to  be  drawn  on  in  case  he  fails 
to  pay  up;  third,  usually  a  further  security  in  the  form  of  a  mortgage  on  his 
household  effects;  and  fourth  a  power  of  attorney  to  be  vested  in  the  loan 
shark  himself.  No  copies  of  these  are  given  to  the  borrower,  so  he  has  no  way 
thereafter  of  proving  what  he  has  or  has  not  signed.  Neither  are  receipts 
given  for  amount  paid  in,  nor  are  the  documents  returned  which  he  originallj 
signed. 

In  appendix  C  will  be  found  in  replica  a  full  set  of  "loan  shark  papers"  as 
used  by  a  money-lending  concern  in  business  in  Chicago  for  years,  with  ex- 
planatory notes  accompanying  each.  The  originals  of  these  were  furnished  the 
Department  by  an  ex-manager  of  the  concern. 

But  the  loan  shark  knows  that  when  taken  into  court  even  so  formidable 
an  array  of  documents  will  have  no.  binding  power  to  compel  his  client  to  pay 
interest  in  excess  of  the  7  per  cent,  permitted  by  law.  He  therefore  makes  use 
of  his  client's  ignorance  to  the  fullest  and  works  upon  it  with  a  monumental 
bluff.  He  knows  that  he  must  rely  more  upon  threats  than  upon  his  legal 
security. 

17 


On  the  campaign  against  loan  sharks  in  Cleveland  about  two  years  ago, 
Mr.  Poulson,  the  City  Prosecutor,  captured  some  of  the  confidential  instructions 
issued  to  loan  shark  managers,  among  others  a  36  page  book  entitled,  Blank's 
"Book  of  Instructions."  This  man,  who  bears  the  title  of  "King  of  the  Loan 
Sharks,"  in  his  own  advertisement  some  time  ago  claimed  to  be  doing  a 
business  in  66  cities  of  the  country.  Some  quotations  from  these  confidential 
papers,  were  presented  at  the  Baltimore  convention  of  the  National  Federation 
of  Remedial  Loan  Associations  in  1915  by  Mr.  John  E.  Taylor,  Mgr.  of  the 
Equitable  Collateral  Loan  Company  of  Youngstown,  Ohio.  The  following  extracts 
convey  a  graphic  picture  of  loan  shark  methods: 

"We  have  to  get  after  collections  harder  and  disregard  the  customer's 
threats  of  paying  only  the  legal  interest  rates. 

"Do  not  kill  the  account  by  sending  a  bum  collector  after  it.  It  is  the 
sharp,  quick  action  that  counts. 

"Do  not  get  timid  on  account  of  the  kicks  by  customers.  Do  not  show 
too  much  sympathy,  when  they  come  around  with  hard-luck  tales. 

"Use  'soft-soap'  talk  on  the  borrower  only  after  you  have  tried  stones 
and  gravel.  If  a  customer  mentions  the  law,  hunch  your  shoulders  and  say 
you  do  not  know  much  about  it. 

"Bluff  the  borrower  by  rattling  papers  in  your  desk.  Pretend  to  phone 
to  an  attorney,  but  hold  the  phone  closed.  Remember  the  whole  proceeding 
is  more  or  less  of  a  bluff.  Give  your  customer  good  hard  roasts. 

"Try  to  bluff  a  customer  concerning  loans  with  other  companies.  Look 
through  a  drawer  or  book,  rattle  the  papers,  etc.,  and  then  say,  'Oh,  I  see, 
you  want  to  make  a  loan  to  pay  off  the  other  company.'  Hesitate  a  moment 
and  see  if  the  bluff  works. 

"When  a  customer  comes  in  for  the  money,  try  to  bluff  him;  he  will 
think  you  have  found  out  something  about  it.  Say  to  him  'Will  your  other 
loan  interfere  with  your  making  these  payments  promptly?'  He  will 
probably  say  'No,'  and  then  you  have  him. 

"The  phone  is  the  quickest  way  of  getting  after  collections.  The  next 
best  thing  is  to  send  a  special  notice.  I.  believe  it  is  safe  to  say  that  50 
per  cent,  of  the  collectors  who  are  sent  out  to  see  customers  spoil  them. 
It  does  not  take  the  customer  long  to  see  that  they  can  bulldoze  a  collector. 

"In  the  case  of  a  dead-beat,  you  might  bring  up  the  point  of  a  new  law, 
and  do  whatever  bluffing  you  want  to;  but  to  talk  to  customers  in  general 
about  new  laws  I  do  not  approve.  There  is  no  use  putting  the  notion  into 
their  heads,  as  they  would  probably  go  and  see  somebody  to  find  out  what 
the  new  law  is.  The  result  would  be  more  apt  to  harm  us  than  to  do  us 
any  good. 

"Do  not  loan  to  wives  unless  you  are  sure  they  get  an  allowance  from 
their  husbands.  Bluff  the  wife  into  thinking  you  must  have  the  husband's 
signature,  then  drop  the  demand. 

"You  can  say  anything  you  like  to  a  customer  in  a  sealed  letter  so  long 
as  it  is  not  criminal  threats,  immoral  or  indecent. 

"We  need  managers  with  bull-dog  determination.  Get  some  attorney 
who  will  sell  you  his  legal  letter-heads  and  then  write  your  customers  upon 
them. 

"When  a  customer  served  with  a  wage-assignment,  comes  poking  in, 
give  him  a  good  hard  roast.  At  first  suggest  you  are  going  to  tie  up  his 
salary.  If  you  see  you  have  to  retreat,  do  so  as  slowly  as  possible.  Do  not 
give  people  all  they  ask." 

Mr.  Taylor,  in  his  interesting  paper,  speaks  as  follows  on  his  experience 
in  loan  shark  methods: 

"Sometimes  legal  looking  notices  are  sent  to  the  victims,  such  as 
'garnishee  demand,'  and  'demand  notice,'  'notice  of  judgment,'  'original 
notice  before  suit,'  and  some  loan  sharks  have  gone  so  far  as  to  have 
letters  printed  purporting  to  come  from  a  local  collecting  bureau.  One  of 
these  notices  which  recently  came  into  my  hands  was  entitled  'Ultimo 
notitia'— a  very  legal  looking  scrap  of  paper  prepared  and  delivered  in  such 
a  way  that  the  victim  would  think  it  came  from  the  civil  branch  of  the 

18 


Municipal  Court.  All  these  notices  have  a  certain  legal  look  about  them 
in  the  eyes  of  the  unsophisticated  victim,  and  oftentimes  bear  fruit,  at 
which  the  loan  shark  chuckles  to  himself  and  says,  'Well,  once  again  the 
bluff  worked  beautifully.' " 

Some  employers,  in  a  well-meaning  attempt  to  discourage  their  employes 
from  getting  under  the  control  of  loan  sharks,  have  issued  an  order  announcing 
that  any  employe,  guilty  of  borrowing  from  professional  money-lenders,  shall  be 
discharged.  By  such  an  order,  the  employer  has  unwittingly  played  right  into 
the  loan  shark's  hands  giving  him  a  weapon  to  hold  over  his  victim's  head. 
By  advertising  that  "our  loans  are  confidential,"  the  loan  shark  learns  who  of 
his  patrons  wish  them  to  be  kept  confidential.  If  his  payments  are  not  forth- 
coming, the  loan  shark  threatens  to  notify  the  employer.  With  the  vision  of 
discharge  hanging  over  him,  the  victim  makes  redoubled  efforts  to  escape  from 
the  toils,  often  in  so  doing  only  becoming  more  deeply  involved.  A  second  loan 
may  be  solicited  to  pay  off  the  first,  and  others  to  pay  off  the  second — indeed 
there  are  companies  whose  specialities  of  advertising  are  loans  for  the  purpose 
of  paying  off  other  loans — until  he  is  wound  up  beyond  a  point  where  he  will 
ever  be  able  to  extricate  himself  unaided. 

During  the  administration  of  Mayor  Carter  H.  Harrison,  an  order  went 
forth  to  the  effect  that  any  city  employe  would  be  discharged  who  obtained 
money  from  any  professional  money-lender.  By  making  judicious  use  of  this 
order,  a  certain  class  of  loan  sharks  who  specialize  in  business  with  firemen 
and  policemen  and  other  city  employes,  obtained  a  far  stronger  grip  on  them 
than  they  had  had  before. 

The  person  who  does  not  make  his  payments  on  time  or  who  seems  to  be 
slipping  out  of  the  lender's  grasp  is  subjected  to  such  communications  as  the 
following  (which  are  transcripts  of  actual  letters  sent  by  loan  shark  operators 
in  this  city  to  certain  of  their  delinquents) : 

"Feb.  17,  1914. 
Dear  Sir  &  Madam: 

You  failed  to  pay  your  note  due  Feb.  15th.  We  wrote  you  when  we 
sent  you  this  money  'THAT  same  MUST  be  IN  THIS  OFFICE  on  the 
EXACT  DAY'  and  we  meant  what  we  said  RIGHT  TO  THE  LETTER. 

You  are  hereby  notified  that  if  this  is  not  paid  WITHIN  48  HOURS, 
we  shall  take  legal  steps  to  get  this  money. 

Yours  truly, 

BLANK   LOAN   CO." 

"Dec.  28,  1914. 
Dear  Sir  &  Madam: 

You  failed  to  pay  your  note  due  Dec.  25th.  If  you  think  we  are  going 
to  be  bothered  THIS  WAY  you  have  another  'think'  coming. 

Not  when  there  are  other  ways  of  getting  it,  and  a  deal  is  almost 
paid  out  ANYHOW. 

If  you  care  to  send  this  WITHIN  48  HOURS,  we  will  accept  the  payment, 
rather  than  appear  'ugly'  right  at  the  Christmas  time; — Otherwise  your 
money  is  N.  G.  in  this  office. 

We  are  fully  aware  that  it  is  considered  a  'Nasty  trick'  to  start  legal 
proceedings  when  a  deal  is  almost  paid  out,  but  where  parties  'Stall'  just 
as  long  as  they  DARE  month  after  month,  we  feel  that  we  are  justified  in 
so  doing,  ESPECIALLY  when  we  can  make  FAR  MORE  by  so  doing  than 
we  could  if  they  paid  us  the  cash  payment. 

Should  we  fail  to  hear  from  you  WITHIN  the  time  limit  set,  we  shall 
feel  FULLY  JUSTIFIED  in  taking  it  for  granted  that  you  do  not  INTEND 
to  pay  and  in  demanding  our  FULL  LEGAL  RIGHTS  in  this  matter. 

Yours  truly, 

BLANK  FINANCE  ASSN." 

19 


"Aug.  2,  1915. 
Dear  Sir  &  Madam: 

Yours  at  hand.  As  we  wrote  you  Saturday,  we  are  SICK  of  these 
eternal  delays  and  we  are  going  to  thrash  the  matter  out  RIGHT  NOW, 
one  way  or  the  OTHER. 

What  is  it  to  US  about  'your  being  out  of  work.'  Why  don't  you 
hustle  around  and  GET  WORK?  WE  are  not  running  an  employment 
agency  you  know. 

We  feel  that  you  should  be  able  to  BORROW  a  piking  little  $7.45  from 
your  friends  IF  YOU  WANTED  TO.  Is  your  credit  so  poor  with  those 
who  KNOW  YOU  that  they  won't  lend  you  that  trifling  sum.  OR  don't  you 
WANT  to  put  yourself  out  to  KEEP  your  AGREEMENT  with  us?  IF  your 
friends  don't  trust  you,  we  certainly  had  better  close  this  up  RIGHT  NOW. 
That  is  self  evident.  Same  if  you  won't  borrow  this  to  pay  your  honest 
debts.  We  want  this  money  BY  RETURN  MAIL  and  we  are  not  going  to 
waste  any  more  good  time  and  postage  telling  it  to  you  either.  GET  THAT? 

Its  'up  to  YOU  to  get  it.  Not  to  US.  You  were  NOT  out  of  work 
LAST  MONTH  and  you  IGNORED  your  payment  THEN.  We  are  beginning 
to  think  there  is  only  one  WAY  to  handle  a  deal  LIKE  THIS. 

Yours  truly, 

BLANK  FINANCE  CO." 

The  following  is  a  letter  sent  by  one  concern  to  a  lawyer  of  the  Legal  Aid 
Society  staff  who  had  interfered  in  behalf  of  a  harassed  borrower.  The  attempt 
of  the  company  to  inject  an  ethical  element  into  the  settlement  is  no  less  in- 
teresting than  the  virtual  acknowledgement  that  the  claim  which  is  made  is 
an  illegal  one: 

"April,  1916. 
Dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  the  28th  inst  at  hand.  If  you  elect  to  answer  one  or  two 
questions,  we  are  always  glad  to  discuss  any  question.  Otherwise  its  useless. 
In  the  first  place,  your  client  AGREED  to  pay  a  certain  sum,  didn't  he? 
We  are  not  asking  a  PENNY  more  than  he  AGREED  to  pay  are  we?  Where 
then  has  HE  any  just  cause  for  complaint? 

He  sends  on  a  power  of  attorney  authorizing  his  agent  HERE  to  borrow 
a  certain  sum  of  him  and  after  receiving  it,  confirms  the  act  of  his  attorney 
in  fact.  He  is  of  age  and  supposedly  of  sound  mind,  capable  of  conducting 
his  affairs  without  a  guardian,  isn't  he?  If  not  why  don't  you  and  your 
ilk  have  a  guardian  appointed  for  him  by  the  courts? 

Now  do  you  believe  that  it  is  HONEST  to  beat  a  bill  simply  because 
you  legally  can?  Do  YOU  actually  think  that  SQUARE  for  a  grown  man  to 
enter  into  a  transaction  with  his  EYES  OPEN  and  then  REFUSE  to  carry 
out  his  contract  on  the  grounds  that  some  attorney  tells  him  that  it  cannot 
be  enforced  at  law?  Answer  these  questions  IF  YOU  DARE  Mr.  -  — . 

That  we  didn't  overcharge  your  client  is  shown  conclusively  by  the  fact 
that  we  were  obliged  to  CLOSE  our  Rochester  office  and  discharge  our  help 
down  there  because  the  place  DIDN'T  PAY  and  surely  where  a  place  is 
LOSING  MONEY,  its  a  pretty  good  argument  to  the  effect  that  they  were 
not  robbing  the  public,  even  tho'  mismanagement  was  at  the  bottom  of  it, 
as  it  was  NOT  in  this  particular  case,  for  surely  an  investor  has  a  right  to 
SOME  profit,  so  you  cannot  use  THAT  as  an  argument  for  refusing  to  pay 
in  this  instance. 

We  are  AMERICANS  Mr.  -  — .  NOT  GERMANS.  We  think  that  a 
contract  should  be  KEPT  even  tho'  MIGHT  does  happen  to  be  on  the  other 
side.  We  are  laymen.  NOT  LAWYERS  and  we  think  that  where  a  MAN 
AGREES  to  do  a  certain  thing,  he  should  DO  IT,  regardless  as  to  whether 
the  claim  can  be  enforced  at  LAW  or  not.  And  as  we  HOPE  that  we  are 
fairly  honest,  WE  would  tell  anyone  asking  US  for  advice  'Possibly  you 

could  beat  your  bill  at  LAW  but  would  be  a to  try  it,  as  you 

went  into  it  with  your  eyes  open  and  we  imagine  this  would  be  the  advice 
of  any  HONEST  man  on  earth.' 


As  to  the  refunding  what  your  client  has  paid,  would  say  that  we  will 
refund  it  WHEN  the  bar  association  begins  to  tell  their  clients  to  do 
RIGHT,  instead  of  advising  them  to  do  LEGALLY.  Figure  out  for  yourself 
when  THAT  is  going  to  happen. 

We  beg  to  call  YOUR  attention  to  the  Federal  laws  regarding  'black- 
mail.' Your  threats  may  be  put  in  force  any  time  you  see  fit  Mr. . 

We  THINK  that  the  assignment  of  this  man's  wages  is  good  AT  LAW 
and  can  at  least  test  it  out  His  employers  being  BUSINESS  people  and  not 
lawyers,  will  undoubtedly  take  the  same  view  of  it  that  we  do,  viz,  that  if  a 
party  AGREED  open  eyed  to  PAY,  that  he  SHOULD  PAY,  regardless  of  the 
LAW  in  the  matter,  especially  as  the  transaction  took  place  in  Ills.,  where 
it  is  valid  even  at  law. 

Yours  truly, 

BLANK  LOAN  CORPORATION." 


The  Loan  Shark  Clearing  House. 

The  average  outsider  does  not  know  of  the  complex  organization  of  the 
money  lending  business.  He  thinks  of  each  operator  as  more  or  less  isolated 
in  his  operation,  bound  to  his  fellow  usurers  by  a  "consciousness  of  kind,"  it  is 
true,  but  separated  from  them  by  barriers  of  competition.  He  is  amazed  when 
he  learns  of  the  close  inter-relation  which  exists  among  the  leading  ones  and 
of  the  high  form  of  organization  which  the  business  manifests. 

The  larger  operators  do  not  confine  themselves  to  a  single  city.  A  number 
of  the  Chicago  firms  are  branch  houses  of  a  larger  concern  which  operates  in 
many  states.  One  of  these  some  time  ago  was  doing  business  in  over  sixty 
cities.  Recently  there  appeared  as  witness  in  a  loan  shark  case  before  Judge 
Landis  in  the  Federal  Court  a  manager  of  a  money  lending  firm  who  reluctantly 
testified  that  the  owner  6f  his  company  was  the  owner  of  nearly  seventy  others 
scattered  about  the  country.  Eastern  capital  is  found  financing  certain  of  the 
firms  listed  in  Appendix  A,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  the  firms  are  chartered 
in  another  state.  Not  only  this,  but  records  show  that  in  many  instances  the 
real  backers  of  loan  shark  concerns  are  persons  of  influence  and  prestige  in 
their  communities,  sometimes  prominent  in  church,  fraternal  and  social  life. 

Within  the  city  the  leading  operators  have  banded  themselves  together  into 
an  organization  known  as  the  clearing  house,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made.  This  organization,  founded  in  1895,  is  a  close  corporation  of  the  severest 
type,  admitting  new  members  only  after  most  rigid  investigation.  Its  work  is 
carried  on  with  the  utmost  secrecy.  No  designation  of  any  kind  appears  on  its 
office  doors.  Its  members  are  known  not  by  name,  but  by  number,  and  the 
designating  number  is  employed  in  all  communications  between  member  and 
clearing  house  and  between  members  themselves.  In  telephone  conversations 
no  information  is  vouchsafed  until  the  pass-word  has  been  given.  The  expenses 
are  met  by  a  monthly  membership  fee  by  an  affiliated  concern. 

The  main  purpose  of  the  organization  is  to  supply  its  members  quickly  with 
information  as  to  applicants  for  loans,  in  this  way  saving  time  and  expense 
which  would  be  necessitated  by  separate  investigations.  In  the  files  of  the 
clearing  house,  ready  indexed  for  quick  access,  are  the  records  of  all  persons  who 
have  borrowed  in  the  past  from  any  member  of  the  association.  Everything  is 
recorded  which  may  serve  to  indicate  whether  or  not  the  applicant  is  desirable: 
his  place  of  business,  standing  in  the  community,  how  often  he  has  borrowed 
previously,  ready  or  slow  pay,  etc.  When  a  new  application  is  made  to  any 
member  of  the  clearing  house,  the  applicant  is  immediately  looked  up  to  see 
whether  any  record  already  exists  concerning  him,  whether  he  is  owing  money  to 
some  other  concern  and  how  much,  and  kindred  matters.  Persons  who  have  dropped 
out  of  sight  of  one  firm  without  settling  accounts  in  full  may  be  located  through 
the  clearing  house  in  case  they  should  later  make  application  to  another  member, 
ignorant  of  the  existence  of  this  information  exchange. 

Three  times  a  day  young  women  "runners"  make  the  rounds  of  the  clearing 
house  membership  to  secure  the  names  and  addresses  and  other  information 

21 


concerning  new  applicants  for  loans.  This  information  is  checked  up  with  the 
records  already  filed  in  the  central  office  and  the  result  reported  back  to  the 
office  to  which  the  applicant  has  just  come. 

With  such  a  system  great  expedition  is  possible,  and  the  answer  may  be 
given  to  the  applicant  within  a  few  hours  as  to  whether  a  loan  may  be  granted. 
Of  course  the  clearing  house  can  afford  no  information  concerning  transactions 
with  non-clearing  house  members,  but  it  is  remarkably  efficient  within  its  own 
field.  It  also  serves  as  a  ready  instrument  of  communication  among  those  who 
compose  it. 

IV.     CONSTRUCTIVE  OPPOSITION  TO  LOAN  SHARKS. 

In  the  palmy  days  of  the  past,  before  a  public  opinion  had  begun  to  crystal- 
lize against  the  business,  the  loan  sharks  in  many  of  our  American  cities  were 
able  to  conduct  their  trade  more  openly  than  now.  Of  late  years  the  movement 
against  them  has  been  gathering  force.  In  a  rough  way  we  may  classify  the 
growing  opposition  to  them  under  the  following  heads: 

1.  Publicity  campaigns. 

2.  Legislation. 

3.  Organized  defense  of  loan  shark  victims. 

4.  Loan  shark  substitutes. 

These  can  not  be  sharply  marked  off  from  one  another;  they  are  interwoven. 
Legislation,  organized  defense  and  loan  shark  substitues  have  come  about  after 
public  opinion  has  been  aroused  by  publicity  campaigns.  Likewise,  certain  of 
the  substitues  which  now  exist  required  special  legislation  before  they  could 
be  formed. 

Constructive  opposition  to  extortionate  money  lending  is  generally  recognized 
to  head  up  in  the  Division  of  Remedial  Loans  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation, 
of  which  Mr.  Arthur  H.  Ham  is  Director.  Mr.  Ham  began  his  work  as  a  "special 
agent  for  the  study  of  remedial  loan  problems"  in  October,  1909,  as  a  result 
of  requests  coming  from  leading  persons  in  the  National  Federation  of  Remedial 
Loan  Associations.  Since  his  appointment  he  has  been  particularly  active  in 
assisting  to  organize  new  remedial  loan  agencies  and  in  securing  legislation  in 
the  various  states. 


Publicity  Campaigns  Against  the  Loan  Shark. 

In  the  language  of  Mr.  Ham,  in  a  letter  received  from  him  during  this 
study: 

"There  are  few  cities  of  any  size  in  this  country  that  have  not,  at 
one  time  or  another,  undertaken  so-called  loan  shark  campaigns.  Sometimes 
the  campaign  has  consisted  of  a  denunciatory  outburst  in  a  leading  news- 
paper; in  other  cases  such  efforts  have  been  followed  up  by  the  formation 
of  committees  of  trade  organizations  or  other  bodies,  activity  on  the  part 
of  prosecuting  officials,  introduction  of  new  legislation,  and  the  forma- 
tion of  a  remedial  loan  society.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  most  of  the  small  loan 
laws  now  in  effect  in  twenty  or  more  states  and  most  of  the  remedial  loan 
societies  now  operating  in  thirty-five  or  more  cities,  were  the  direct  result 
of  loan  shark  campaigns  of  one  sort  or  another.  Perhaps  the  most  notable 
campaigns,  because  of  the  success  which  accompanied  them,  were  those  of 
New  York  in  1910-1911,  etc.,  San  Francisco  in  1911,  Buffalo  in  1912,  Portland, 
Oregon,  in  1913,  Dayton  in  1915,  Omaha  in  1915-1916.  Each  of  these  resulted 
in  the  passage  of  much  needed  legislation  and  the  organization  of  a  remedial 
loan  society." 

In  Chicago,  as  in  other  cities,  practically  every  newspaper  has  at  one  time 
or  another,  gone  on  record  editorially  as  to  its  position  with  regard  to  the  loan 
shark  business.  These  editorials  have  sometimes  been  published  in  the  same 
issue  which  carried  the  loan  shark's  notice  in  the  advertising  columns.  The 

22 


extreme  of  inconsistency  seems  to  have  been  reached  in  the  case  of  one  local 
paper  which  ran  a  large  cartoon  graphically  picturing  the  ravages  of  the  pro- 
fessional money  lender,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  same  sheet  ran  its 
columns  of  loan  shark  business  cards! 

The  most  notable  campaign  of  publicity  in  the  city  has  been  that  of  the 
Tribune  which,  early  in  1912,  organized  its  "Anti-Loan  Shark  Bureau,"  headed 
by  Attorney  Daniel  P.  Trude.  Some  80  lawyers  were  secured  who  agreed  to  give 
their  services  free  on  behalf  of  the  loan  shark  victims,  and  a  definite  series 
of  loan  shark  exposures  began  to  come  from  its  press.  For  the  first  time  the 
citizens  of  Chicago  began  to  have  something  like  an  adequate  idea  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  business,  and  under  the  severe  attacks,  the  loan  sharks  were  put 
upon  a  definite  defensive.  The  materials  piled  up  by  this  journal  were  in  large 
degree  responsible  for  getting  the  measure  through  the  Illinois  legislature 
which  permitted  the  establishment  of  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan 
Society.  The  lead  which  was  set  by  the  Tribune  in  refusing  longer  to  run 
loan  shark  advertising  in  its  columns  was  followed,  as  has  been  stated,  by 
most  of  the  other  papers.  In  addition  to  these  two  important  results,  scores  of 
victims  were  relieved  from  the  difficulty  in  which  they  found  themselves  by 
the  assistance  of  the  attorneys  which  enlisted  with  the  Tribune. 

A  newspaper  campaign  is  effective,  however,  only  so  long  as  what  it  presents 
is  news.  When  it  grows  old  and  the  public  grows  weary  of  the  reiterated  story 
(appetizingly  sensational  at  first)  the  campaign  begins  to  wane;  and  so  it 
happens  that  the  crusade  so  actively  waged  for  a  period  of  nearly  two  years, 
declined  before  the  end  desired  was  accomplished.  Probably  this  cannot  be 
better  expressed  than  in  the  words  of  the  Tribune  itself  at  the  beginning  of  its 
campaign : 

"There  is  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  business  of  the  loan  shark  can  be 
abated  if  not  destroyed — for  a  time.  But  when  the  'tumult  and  the  shout- 
ing dies,'  as  it  always  must  in  newspaper  crusades  after  the  impatient 
readers  have  got  'thoroughly  sick  and  tired  of  the  whole  business'  as  they 
usually  phrase  it  in  their  letters  of  protest,  then  the  loan  shark  will  creep 
back  into  the  city.  With  the  front  page  full  of  Roosevelt,  or  the  opening 
of  the  base-ball  season,  they  will  feel  safe  in  reopening  at  the  old  stand 
under  a  new  name;  that  is,  unless  something  has  taken  its  place  *  *  * 
for  *  *  *  most  *  *  *  people  have  to  borrow  at  times.  If  they  cannot 
borrow  at  reasonable  terms,  they  will  borrow  at  unreasonable  terms.  When 
the  crisis  comes,  borrow  they  must  somehow  or  other." 

It  is  just  this  thing  which  the  Tribune  foresaw  at  the  beginning  of  its 
attack  on  the  loan  shark  which  has  come  to  pass:  The  campaign  came  to  an 
end  before  full  provision  had  been  made  against  the  loan  shark  and  before  the 
State  Legislature  had  made  the  business  sufficiently  unpopular.  As  a  result 
the  sharks  are  among  us  now,  a  trifle  more  cautions  than  before,  but  flourishing 
like  a  green  bay  tree. 

Legislation  Against  the  Loan  Shark. 

In  another  part  of  this  report  an  article  by  Messrs.  Trude  and  Marso 
considers  the  legislative  aspects  of  this  question  in  Illinois.  Two  points  neces- 
sary to  effective  state  legislation  need  to  be  emphasized: 

First,  that  a  sufficient  penalty  be  attached  to  the  business  of  usurious 
money-lending  and  sharp  practices  in  its  connection  to  make  it  an  extra- 
hazardous  occupation.  This  cannot  possibly  be  enforced,  however,  without 
suitable  provision  for  licensing  and  inspecting  the  money-lending  concern. 

Second,  there  must  be  made  complete  provision  for  legitimate  substitutes 
to  take  the  loan  shark's  place.  Again  using  the  words  of  Mr.  Ham,  "Many 
unsuccessful  attempts  to  legislate  the  usurious  money  lenders  out  of  existence 
have  shown  one  thing  clearly — that  a  law  that  comes  between  the  unscrupulous 
man  who  has  money  to  lend  and  the  man  who  wants  to  borrow  cannot  be 
enforced  until  an  agency  is  established  to  suit  his  needs  at  lower  cost."  At 

23 


present   the   ground    is   only   partially   covered    in   Chicago;    it   must   be    fully 
covered. 

Definite  obstacles  to  prevent  such   legislation  will  arise  in  the  future  as 
they  have  done  in  the  past.    Two  or  three  may  be  mentioned: 

1.  The  organized  opposition  of  the  loan  sharks  themselves.     So  remunera- 
tive a  business  as  this  has  been  shown  to  be,  and  so  highly  organized  can  easily 
arrange  to  maintain  a  lobby  against  any  constructive  efforts  put  forth  against 
them  in  the  Legislature,  and  as  is  ordinarily  the  case  the  harmful  powers  are 
apt  to  have  more  funds  at  their  disposal  for  a  lobby  than  the  champions  of 
constructive  legislation. 

2.  Various  installment  firms — not  primarily  money  lending — will  join  their 
forces  to  that  of  the  loan  shark  to  help  prevent  any  regulation  of  wage  assign- 
ment or  too  close  inspection  of  chattel  mortgages.     Such  legislation  would  too 
intimately  affect  their  own  questionable  ways  of  doing  business. 

3.  The  down  state  legislators,  not  being  confronted  with  the  problem  as 
are  those  of  a  great  city  (although  usurious  money  lending  exists  in  practically 
every  community  to  some  extent),  cannot  understand  fully  the  need  for  legisla- 
tion of  this  character. 

Other  states,   however,   have   put  adequate   legislation   on   the   books,   and 
Illinois  will  do  so  in  time. 


Organized  Defense  of  Loan  Shark  Victims. 

A  lawyer  can  hardly  find  a  more  unremunerative  case,  in  terms  of  dollars 
and  cents,  than  that  of  the  loan  shark  victim  whose  pockets  have  already  been 
turned  inside  out  by  the  professional  usurer.  To  give  services  free  is  nothing 
less  than  philanthropy  and  most  of  them  feel,  and  naturally  so,  that  they  cannot 
afford  to  do  it. 

In  Chicago  the  Bureau  of  Justice  (incorporated  in  1888)  and  the  Protective 
Agency  for  Women  and  Children  (incorporated  in  1887)  were  consolidated  in 
1905  as  the  Legal  Aid  Society,  having  as  one  of  its  objects  "legal  protection  of 
those  unable  to  protect  themselves  against  injustice."  From  its  beginning  this 
Society,  just  as  its  constituent  branches  had  done  before  consolidation,  has  been 
devoting  itself  at  every  opportunity,  to  the  task  of  defense  of  loan  shark  victims. 

During  the  11  years  of. the  Society's  existence,  from  June,  1905  to  June,  1916, 
there  were  received  a  total  of  2,617  complaints  against  chattel  brokers  and  4,059 
complaints  against  salary  brokers,  a  total  of  6,676  complaints  altogether.  No 
exact  record  is  available  to  show  the  exact  number  of  cases  settled;  SQme  were 
dropped,  some  were  compromised,  some  involved  lengthy  litigation.  But  there 
is  a  definite  record  of  1,266  cases  having  been  settled  for  clients  during  the 
last  three  years  of  the  period.  The  amount  saved  to  the  victims  represented 
in  this  number  of  cases  was  $16,884.88. 

The  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society,  as  Mr.  Hill  has  indicated  in 
his  paper  found  elsewhere  in  this  issue  of  the  Bulletin,  has  had  from  the  first 
as  one  of  its  objects,  the  defense  of  the  borrower  against  the  loan  shark.  From 
its  opening  in  November,  1913,  down  to  June  1st,  1916,  the  Society  had  made 
2,004  loan  company  settlements  which  have  saved  their  clients  approximately 
$19,000  in  excessive  loan  shark  charges. 

The  following  list,  which  comprises  only  a  few  of  the  many  specific  cases  on 
record,  as  settled  by  these  two  societies,  indicates  the  practical  service  which 
they  have  rendered: 


24 


SPECIFIC   CASES  FOUND  IN  LEGAL  AID  SOCIETY   RECORDS. 


Key  No.  as 

Appearing  in 

Amount 

Appendix  A. 

Demanded. 

14 

$  10.75 

27 

23.00 

30 

27.00 

36 

29.00 

41 

93.80 

37 

140.00 

64-66 

51.00 

71 

28.00 

74 

23.10 

89 

30.00 

115 

27.00 

116-38 

9.00 

136 

63.60 

122 

12.00 

141 

24.00 

140 

12.50 

148 

35.00 

142 

19.00 

159-160 

14.00 

175 

16.00 

173 

45.00 

179 

14.70 

172 

18.75 

*181-SO-129-205 

11.00 

Amount 
Settled  for. 

$     2.00 

12.73 

5.40 

11.56 

27.80 

100.68 

00.00 

14.60 

4:70 

3.25 

9.10 

3.00 

34.00 

1.00 

2.75 

1.75 

11.75 

1.00 

1.00 

2.00 

6.00 

1.28 

8.45 

1.00 


Amount  Saved 
for  Victims. 

$  8.75 
10.27 
21.60 
17.44 
66.00 
39.32 
51.00 
13.40 
18.40 
26.75 
17.90 
6.00 
29.60 
11.00 
21.25 
10.75 
23.25 
18.00 
13.00 
14.00 
39.00 
13.42 
10.30 
10.00 


SPECIFIC    CASES    FOUND    IN    THE    RECORDS    OF    THE    FIRST    STATE 
INDUSTRIAL  WAGE   LOAN   SOCIETY. 


Key  No.  as 

Appearing  in 

Amount 

Appendix  A. 

Demanded 

"19-102-185-68-74-14 

$391.40 

•26-58-113-64-66-46-47 

209.50 

24-1 

65.00 

68 

48.00 

*73-178-99 

125.50 

86 

70.00 

90. 

70.8a 

99 

75.00 

*103-171-52 

238.00 

105 

45.00 

115-R 

138.00 

120 

60.00 

148 

60.00 

172 

200.40 

191 

144.00 

Amount 
Settled  for. 

$295.70 

174.50 

44.25 

30.00 

91.50 

55.00 

59.10 

58.25 

118.75 

30.00 

113.00 

42.00 

45.00 

143.20 

112.80 


Amount  Saved 
for  Victims. 

$  95.70 
35.00 
20.75 
18.00 
34.00 
15.00 
11.70 
16.75 
119.25 

•  15.00 
25.00 
18.00 
15.00 
57.20 
31.20 


*Shows  the  borrower  was  complicated  with  a  number  of  firms. 


To  the  large  number  of  settlements  made  by  these  two  societies  must  be 
added  those  handled  at  various  times  by  members  of  the  Tribune's  Anti  Loan 
Shark  Bureau.  Fifteen  months  after  it  had  been  established  Mr.  Trude  stated 
"altogether  approximately  5,000  accounts  have  been  taken  under  consideration 


25 


by  the  Bureau  and  the  majority  settled,  for  the  Bureau  has  found  that  the  loan 
sharks  have  contested  in  court  less  than  3  per  cent  of  the  cases." 

To  these  three  agencies  must  be  added  the  genuine  services  which  have 
been  rendered  by  various  other  individuals  in  legal  and  advisory  capacities.  Of 
late  the  cudgels  against  the  loan  shark  have  been  most  actively  wielded  by  the 
firm  of  Callahan  and  Callahan,  Attorneys,  who  have  undertaken  the  establish- 
ment of  a  "war  chest" —  a  fund  to  carry  on  active  opposition  to  the  cult  in 
Chicago.  Since  April  they  have  taken  up  nearly  eleven  hundred  cases  against 
the  loan  shark  and  are  now  engaged  in  a  canvass  of  the  members  of  the  Illinois 
legislature  with  reference  to  loan  shark  legislation.  A  more  extensive  statement 
of  this  firm's  activities  appears  in  another  place. 

While  the  amounts  saved  to  the  victims  seem  rather  small,  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  loans  are  made  to  the  poorer  class  of  people  and  often 
to  those  in  extreme  circumstances,  and  that  a  very  few  dollars  saved  may  mean 
a  great  deal.  Frequently  the  initial  loan  is  much  larger  than  the  figures  in 
the  tables  just  presented  would  lead  one  to  think  and  represent  at  times  money 
raised  on  household  goods  as  well  as  advances  on  salary.  For  instance,  in  one 
loan  the  amount  borrowed  was  $125.00  to  secure  which  the  borrower  signed 
a  note  for  $176.00.  The  Legal  Aid  effected  a  settlement  without  further  payment, 
saving  the  client  $51.00.  Another  case  was  a  loan  of  $25.00  where,  after  the 
borrower  had  paid  back  $25.00,  an  additional  $24.00  was  still  demanded,  making 
a  total  of  $49.00.  Settlement  was  made  for  $2.75,  a  saving  of  $21.25.  Such 
cases  could  be  extended  indefinitely. 

Important  as  is  the  actual  cash  saving  to  the  persons  concerned,  these 
settlements  mean  far  more  than  the  money  involved.  In  many  instances  they 
represent  the  rescuing  of  people  who  have  been  for  years  in  financial  servitude, 
people  who  have  long  since  all  but  reconciled  themselves  to  hopeless  slavery. 


Loan  Shark  Substitutes. 

Mr.  Raymond  B.  Fosdick,  Commissioner  of  Accounts  in  New  York  City,  in 
discussing  remedial  loans  before  the  Academy  of  Political  Science  November 
llth,  1911,  epitomized  a  truth  which  all  students  of  the  loan  shark  situation 
sooner  or  later  discover: 

"Before  any  campaign  to  oust  the  loan  shark  can  be  effected,  there  must 
be  some  agency  equipped  and  prepared  to  take  its  place.  Indeed  no  cam- 
paign of  extermination  will  ever  succeed,  no  amount  of  condemnation  will 
ever  be  effective,  no  negative  laws,  however  drastic,  can  permanently  relieve 
the  present  abuses;  as  long  as  we  have  citizens  who  want  to  borrow  money — 
and  we  shall  always  have  them — so  long  will  loan  agencies  of  some  kind 
continue,  and  it  is  only  the  better  kind  that  will  succeed  in  driving  out 
the  worse." 

This  desire  to  borrow  money  may  be  legitimately  born  of  necessity  growing 
out  of  extremeties  beyond  the  power  of  the  individual  to  avoid.  It  may  be 
born  of  lack  of  thrift  or  extravagance,  but  there  will  always  be  persons  needing 
funds  to  tide  over  emergencies  and  willing  to  go  to  almost  any  length  to  secure 
them.  If  legislation  does  no  more  than  drive  the  loan  shark  under  a  more 
careful  cover,  it  will  only  accentuate  the  evil  by  forcing  him  to  still  more 
exorbitant  charges  for  the  greater  risk  involved;  and  there  will  always  be  men 
willing  to  take  the  risk  if  it  can  be  made  profitable.  When  legislation  against 
the  loan  shark  goes  on  the  statute  books  it  is  necessary  that  there  be  set  up 
substitutes  for  them,  agencies  of  one  sort  or  another  that  can  minister  to  the  very 
real  need  which  has  for  centuries  been  the  fundamental  reason  for  the  existence 
of  the  loan  shark. 

Already  a  number  of  substitues  have  appeared.  We  may  briefly  sketch  them 
as  follows: 

26 


Charitable  Loan  Agencies.  The  earliest  of  these  were  probably  found  in  the 
monts  de  Picte  (literally  mounts  of  pity)  which  originated  in  Italy  about  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  They  began  largely  as  religious  enterprises, 
although  they  were  later  put  on  a  somewhat  secular  basis  by  the  supervision 
given  them  by  the  State.  They  were  designed  to  provide  borrowing  resources 
for  the  very  poor  who,  having  nowhere  else  to  turn,  were  preyed  upon  the  loan 
sharks  of  their  day.  Originally  they  were  wholly  philanthropic  in  character  and 
charged  the  borrower  no  interest.  Wealthy  philanthropists  were  depended  upon 
to  supply  the  loan  fund,  expecting  no  return  therefrom.  On  such  a  basis  they 
were  not  successful  because  no  guarantee  existed  as  to  adequate  resources  for 
carrying  on  the  organization.  In  order  to  secure  a  dependable  fund  the  man- 
agement was  finally  compelled  to  offer  a  remuneration — interest — to  those  whom 
they  called  upon  to  provide  the  working  capital.  After  that  change  was  made 
the  organization  had  better  fortune  and  at  one  time  or  another  its  branches 
have  been  found  in  most  of  the  countries  of  Europe.  They  are  now  supplanted 
by  more  up-to-date  organizations. 

A  number  of  religious  organizations  have  today  established,  as  a  part  of 
their  system  of  benefactions,  loan  funds  which  are  at  the  disposal  of  their  own 
communicants.  Notable  among  these  is  that  of  St.  Bartholomew's  Parish  of 
New  York  City  whose  loans  during  1915  aggregated  close  to  $100,000.00.  Among 
Jewish  congregations  it  is  common  to  find  loan  funds  established.  During  this 
investigation  the  Department  has  obtained  the  addresses  of  no  less  than  25 
of  these  in  Chicago.  The  statement  is  made  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Wolfsohn,  Editor  of 
the  "Jewish  Voice"  that  scarcely  a  congregation  of  orthodox  Jews  can  be 
found  in  the  city  which  does  not  have  such  a  provision.  Rabbi  Saul  Silber 
states  that  the  leading  one  is  the  "Rabbi  Isaac  Elchonah  Loan  Society."  It 
has  some  15  smaller  societies  scattered  about  the  city,  and  their  total  loans — 
all  made  without  interest — amount  to  over  $150,000  a  year. 

Loan  funds  are  established  as  features  of  certain  charitable  societies.  The 
Woman's  Loan  Association,  affiliated  with  the  Chicago  United  Jewish  Charities, 
makes  free  loans  totaling  more  than  $50,000  a  year  to  poor  Jews.  The  Jewish 
Aid  Society,  and  the  United  Charities  of  Chicago  also  make  loans  under  excep- 
tional circumstances  but  do  not  operate  a  regular  loan  department. 

Employers'  Loan  Funds.  With  the  idea  of  "welfare"  work  for  their 
employes  gaining  ground  every  day,  many  large  employers  of  labor  have 
added  to  their  benefit  features  a  loan  fund  upon  which  their  employes  can 
draw  in  emergency.  Certain  of  these  charge  no  interest  at  all,  others  require 
the  legal  rate.  Several  of  the  largest  concerns  of  Chicago  are  among  these, 
but  prefer  to  operate  the  fund  without  publicity,  fearing  that  if  its  existence 
were  too  generally  known  their  employes  might  seek  to  make  too  free  use  of  it. 
The  methods  of  one  of  these  concerns  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  their  welfare 
secretary,  who  requests  the  Department  to  withhold  the  Company's  name  in 
publishing  the  facts: 

"1.  Our  superintendents  frequently  advance  part  of  a  man's  wages 
in  order  to  help  him  through  an  emergency,  the  amount  being  deducted 
from  his  check  on  pay  day.  While  this  seems  a  fair  and  sound  method 
of  handling  the  problem,  you  will  probably  be  surprised  to  find  how  care- 
fully it  has  to  be  watched.  There'  is  a  type  of  individuals  (of  whom  there 
are  many)  who  find  this  way  of  meeting  their  difficulties  so  much  easier 
than  the  wiser  one  of  using  thrift  that  there  is  a  possibility  of  simply 
breaking  down  the  self-restraint  which  is  so  important. 

"2.  At  this  office,  one  of  our  officers,  who  was  formerly  a  banker 
himself,  makes  loans  in  exactly  the  same  way  that  a  banker  would  make 
them.  If  the  employe  has  security  to  give  the  loan  is  made  at  the  usual 
rate  of  interest,  the  security  being  held  until  payment  is  completed. 

"3.  I  have  charge  of  a  loan  fund  which  is  used  for  extreme  emergency 
in  the  case  of  employes  who  are  usually  not  able  to  give  any  security  and 
may  be  unable  to  pay  interest.  The  employe  gives  a  note  promising  to 
pay  in  monthly  installments  of  a  small  amount  beginning  on  a  certain  date. 

27 


These  cases  are  Investigated  very  carefully  in  order  that  we  may  know  just 
how  much  the  man  can  stand  and  how  soon  he  can  begin  payments. 

"The  employe  usually  makes  good  on  these  loans,  as  we  have  lost  almost 
nothing  in  the  three  years  in  which  I  have  handled  the  fund.  If  a  loan  is 
given  to  a  man  who  has  been  in  the  hands  of  loan  sharks,  we  handle  it  in 
the  following  manner:  One  of  our  attorneys  visits  the  loan  company  and 
makes  an  offer  of  cash  payment  with  a  reasonable  rate  of  interest,  such  as 
the  law  would  require.  The  loan  companies  are  usually  very  glad  to  settle 
for  cash." 

Employes  Co-operative  Loan  Associations.  A  number  of  important  concerns, 
recognizing  the  paternalistic  character  of  the  foregoing,  instead  of  setting  up  a 
fund  of  their  own  for  the  purpose,  encourage  the  organization  of  co-operative 
associations  among  their  employes,  who  from  their  own  savings,  provide  a  fund 
to  be  used  by  themselves.  The  element  of  thrift  which  is  encouraged  by  this 
plan  is  fully  as  important  a  result  of  the  arrangement  as  that  of  furnishing 
temporary  financial  assistance  to  borrowers.  "The  Celluliod  Club  Savings  & 
Loan  Department"  of  the  Celluloid  Company  of  New  Jersey,  is  made  up  entirely 
of  employes  of  the  Company  and  is  managed  by  them.  "The  Mutual  Investment 
Association  of  the  Postal  Telegraph  Company"  is  one  of  the  same  character. 
Such  co-operative  companies  are  vastly  more  popular  with  the  employes  than 
are  those  operated  by  the  Company  itself.  Mr.  S.  T.  Simmonds,  manager  of  the 
Celluloid  Club,  explained  why,  in  his  paper  before  Academy  of  Political  Science 
in  November  1911:  "Employes  would  object  to  their  employers  knowing  just 
how  much  they  were  saving,  and  the  best  class  of  employes  would  suffer  rather 
than  ask  for  assistance  through  the  office.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between 
telling  ones  troubles  to  a  fellow-employe  and  telling  that  same  story  to  an 
official." 

In  such  a  co-operative  association,  whatever  income  is  derived  from  fines, 
charges  for  loans  or  any  other  source,  after  expenses  are  paid,  goes  back  into 
the  general  fund  and  belongs  to  the  depositors  themselves.  No  outside  agency 
is  profiting  by  their  necessity,  and  they  are  self-respecting  in  their  personal 
independence  secured  in  this  way. 

Employes'  loan  associations  are  in  existence  among  a  few  Chicago  firms. 
More  should  be  organized. 

The  Credit  Union.  In  1909  Massachusetts  enacted  a  law  which  has  since 
been  widely  copied  in  other  states,  permitting  individuals  "associated  by  reason 
of  residence,  occupation,  fraternal  association  or  otherwise"  to  organize  and 
operate  a  credit  union  whose  objects,  as  explained  by  Mr.  Ham  before  the  New 
York  State  League  of  Savings  &  Loan  Associations,  in  1915,  are:  (1)  To  en- 
courage thrift  by  providing  a  safe,  convenient  and  attractive  medium  for  the 
investment  of  savings  of  the  members;  (2)  To  promote  industry  and  eliminate 
usury  and  extortion  by  enabling  its  members  to  borrow  for  productive  and  other 
beneficial  reasons  at  a  reasonable  cost;  and  (3)  To  train  its  members  in  business 
methods  and  self-government  and  to  educate  them  to  the  full  realization  of  the 
value  of  co-operation. 

The  idea,  while  new  to  this  country,  is  one  of  long  standing,  having  been 
successfully  known  abroad  for  sixty-five  years.  "Membership  is  based  upon 
some  common  bond  or  community  of  interest"  such  as  common  occupation  or 
employment,  church  or  lodge  membership  or  neighborhood  association.  The 
loan  fund  is  one  erected  by  savings  of  the  members  themselves,  being  kept  up 
by  purchase  of  shares  in  the  union.  It  can  be  drawn  upon  only  by  members 
and  by  them  only  after  a  credit  committee  decides  that  the  loan  is  desired  for 
a  constructive  and  beneficial  purpose.  The  character  of  the  member  is  the 
chief  determinant  in  Question  of  whether  or  not  he  shall  be  admitted  to  mem- 
bership and  whether  after  being  admitted  the  loan  shall  be  granted  to  him. 

Except  in  the  details  of  the  organization  and  the  fact  that  it  is  subject  to 
state  supervision,  the  employes  co-operative  loan  associations  already  discussed, 
might  very  well  be  classified  as  credit  unions.  It  would  take  very  little  trouble 
to  turn  them  into  bona  fide  unions. 

28 


It  has  been  estimated  that  there  are  over  sixty-five  thousand  credit  unions 
in  different  parts  of  the  world  with  a  membership  closely  approaching  15,000,000, 
whose  annual  business  runs  up  to  seven  billions  of  dollars.  To  these  figures 
which  he  has  compiled,  Mr.  Ham  adds  the  following  statement  concerning  its 
growth : 

"Russia  which,  in  1904,  had  378  unions,  now  has  14,000.  On  January 
1st,  1914,  there  were  18,000  unions  in  Germany  making  loans  to  members 
in  one  year  of  over  a  billion  and  a  half  dollars.  In  1909  Japan  alone  had  2,000 
unions,  and  the  little  country  of  Roumania,  where  the  movement  started, 
in  1902  had  2,500  unions  with  a  membership  of  350,000,  or  35  per  cent  of 
the  entire  population  of  the  country." 

In  1909  there  was  not  a  single  credit  union  in  the  United  States.  After 
Massachusetts  led  the  way,  New  York  and  a  number  of  other  states  followed, 
a  step  which  Illinois  should  be  urged  to  take.  In  its  adherence  to  self-help  as 
the  best  help,  the  union  will  fill  a  place  which  will  enable  the  workman  to  save 
himself  from  the  crushing  burden  imposed  by  his  loan  shark  relationship. 

The  Morris  Plan.  In  1910  there  were  organized  in  Norfolkj  Virginia,  the 
first  of  a  series  of  institutions  known  as  the  "Morris  Plan  Banks,"  which  now 
extend  to  two  dozen  or  more  cities  of  the  United  States.  Originated  by  Mr. 
Arthur  J.  Morris  of  Norfolk,  the  plans  are  advertised  as  "owned  and  developed 
by  the  Industrial  Finance  Corporation,"  52  William  Street,  New  York,  from 
whom  permission  must  be  obtained  before  a  bank  may  be  established  in  new 
territory.  Usually  a  fee  is  charged  by  the  corporation  for  the  exclusive  right 
to  the  use  of  the  plan  in  a  given  city. 

While  frankly  operating  as  a  commercial  enterprise,  one  of  the  largest  claims 
which  the  company  puts  forward  for  recognition  is  its  character  as  a  substitute 
for  the  loan  shark.  The  plan  of  operation  as  explained  by  the  company  is,  in 
brief,  the  following: 

A  borrower  desires  a  loan  of  $100.00.  He  first  gives  his  note  backed  by  two 
endorsers  for  the  $100.00  and  pays  the  legal  rate  of  interest — say  $6.00 — in 
advance.  In  addition  a  fee  of  $2.00  is  charged  to  cover  the  cost  of  investigating 
the  applicant  and  his  endorsers.  He  then  agrees  to  purchase,  at  $2.00  a  week 
for  fifty  weeks,  a  "class  C"  Installment  Investment  Certificate.  This  certificate 
is  assigned  as  collateral  for  the. loan.  At  the  end  of  fifty  weeks  the  borrower 
has  paid  $100  on  this  certificate.  Two  weeks  later  his  note  falls  due.  He  can 
then  withdraw  the  $100  paid  on  the  certificate  and  pay  the  note,  thus  closing  the 
transaction. 

From  the  foregoing  description  of  how  loans  are  made  it  will  be  seen 
that  each  week  the  Morris  Plan  companies  receive  from  borrowers  in  payment 
on  "class  C"  Investment  Certificates,  purchased  and  pledged  as  collateral,  an 
amount  equal  to  2  per  cent  of  the  outstanding  loans.  Therefore  in  addition 
to  loaning  the  amount  of  its  capital  at  6  per  cent  the  Company  reloans  2  per 
cent  of  each  loan  each  week.  In  other  words,  a  company  having  already  charged 
one  borrower  6  per  cent  on  each  dollar  that  he  has  borrowed,  immediately  loans 
that  same  money,  as  soon  as  an  installment  is  paid,  to  someone  else  at  another 
6  per  cent.  It  also  reloans  the  aggregate  amount  of  interest,  the  original 
$6.00,  which  was  deducted  in  advance.  This  process  enables  the  Company  to 
earn  a  gross  profit  on  each  dollar  of  capital  of  13  per  cent  and  up,  according  to 
the  activity  with  which  its  funds  are  turned  over. 

The  Morris  Plan  seems  to  have  met  with  disapproval  from  the  Division  of 
Remedial  Loans  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  and  from  the  Cleveland  Chamber 
of  Commerce.  It  has,  however,  received  cordial  comment  from  a  number  of  the 
New  York  papers — the  Times.  Mail.  Post,  and  World.  The  Financial  Chronicle, 
American  Banker.  Wall  Street  Journal,  the  Outlook.  The  Survey,  The  independ- 
ent, and  a  number  of  others  have  also  mentioned  it  favorably.  The  Morris  Plan 
does  not  at  present  provide  for  loans  of  less  than  $50.00,  thereby  leaving  un- 
touched one  of  the  most  important  fields  for  service.  Persons  are  legion  who 

29 


desire  to  borrow  smaller  amounts  than  $50.00  to  tide  over  an  acute,  although 
small,  emergency. 

Efforts  have  been  made  to  promote  the  Morris  Plan  for  Chicago,  but  it  is 
not  possible  to  organize  it  under  the  existing  State  law. 

The  National  Federation  of  Remedial  Loan  Associations.  The  most  effective 
agency  which  has  yet  come  into  existence  to  meet  the  loan  shark  evil  by  com- 
petition is  found  in  a  group  of  organizations  which  are  affiliated  with  the 
National  Federation  of  Remedial  Loan  Associations.  The  association  was 
formed  at  Buffalo  in  1909,  largely  through  the  earnest  endeavors  of  Mr.  W.  N. 
Finley  of  Baltimore.  It  was  composed  originally  of  fourteen  companies  which 
were  at  that  time  working  single-handed  in  13  cities  of  10  states,  to  combat 
the  activities  of  the  professional  usurer  by  providing  loans  at  a  much  lower  rate 
than  that  of  the  loan  shark.  The  members  declared  themselves,  "desirous  of 
promoting  the  work  in  which  we  are  engaged  to  the  end  that  similar  associa- 
tions may  be  organized  throughout  the  country  wherever  needed,"  and  effected 
a  permanent  organization  having  as  its  object  "the  formation  of  local  organiza- 
tions to  guide  and  direct  persons  interested  in  the  work  and  to  contemplate 
organizing  remedial  societies  by  giving  such  information  and  advice  concerning 
legislation,  finance,  problems  of  legislation,  and  general  information  necessary 
for  organization  and  management."  They  declared  as  eligible  for  membership 
"all  representatives  of  remedial  loan  societies  and  such  others  as  are  known  to 
be  in  complete  sympathy  with  the  movement  to  compel  recognition  of  the  laws, 
regulate  chattel,  salaries  and  pawning  loans  and  protect  borrowers  from 
extortion." 

The  Federation  has  grown  until  now  it  includes  39  societies  operating 
offices  in  34  cities  of  20  states  and  the  province  of  Ontario.  A  roster  of  its 
membership  and  its  constitution  are  found  in  Appendix  D  of  this  report. 

These  39  societies  are  divided  into  three  classes,  namely  those  that  make 
loans  upon  security  of  chattel  mortgages;  those  that  make  loans  upon  security 
of  personal  property  pledged  or  pawned  with  them;  and  one  which  loans  upon 
security  of  wage  assignments.  It  is  in  this  latter  field  that  some  of  the  greatest 
abuses  of  the  loan  shark  have  been  perpetrated,  owing  to  the  fact  that  a  loan 
made  upon  a  wage  assignment  gives  the  lender  a  power  over  the  borrower 
growing  out  of  contact  with  his  employer. 

Most  of  these  societies  have  been  brought  into  existence  under  special  laws 
which  permit  a  higher  rate  of  interest  to  be  charged  than  is  permitted  to 
lenders  not  so  organized.  (See  Appendix  B  for  a  digest  of  laws  under  which 
the  various  states  have  organized  remedial  loan  societies).  This  rate  is  from 
1  to  3  per  cent  in  the  case  of  pawners  and  chattel  companies  and  is  3  per  cent 
a  month  in  the  case  of  the  one  wage  loan  society.  This  rate  seems  exorbitant 
and  differing  from  that  of  the  loan  shark  only  in  degree  to  one  confronted  with 
the  proposition  for  the  first  time.  The  necessity  of  charging  a  rate  so  much 
higher  than  the  usual  contract  rate  is  not  obvious  at  once,  but  when  one  begins 
to  examine  closely  into  the  matter  as  experts  have  done,  he  discovers  that  the 
smallness  of  the  loan  and  the  brief  time  for  which  it  is  made  constitute  a  much 
heavier  overhead  expense  for  handling  than  is  the  case  with  the  ordinary  loan. 
Moreover  the  lenders  are  dealing  in  shakier  securities  than  is  the  case  with 
hanks,  and  losses  are  correspondingly  higher.  Two  of  these  39  societies  are 
operating  in  Chicago.  The  First  State  Pawners  Society,  loaning  only  upon 
pawnable  security;  and  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society,  loaning 
only  upon  wage  assignments.  Both  of  these  are  limited  by  law  to  a  6  per  cent 
return  upon  funds  invested,  and  both  are  subject  to  close  supervision.  Each 
has  an  appointee  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  and  of  the  Mayor  of  the  City  upon 
its  Board  of  Directors.  Fuller  statements  concerning  them  both  will  be  found 
in  another  part  of  the  Bulletin. 

In  looking  over  the  various  types  of  substitutes  one  may  roughly  group  them 
In  four  classes: 

30 


The  purely  philanthropic  which,  whether  under  a  religious  organization 
or  as  a  non-sectarian  charity  or  fraternal  order,  operates  a  loan  fund,  charging 
no  rate  of  interest  to  the  borrower.  In  this  respect  it  is  a  charity  pure  and 
simple  and  should  be  considered  just  as  much  so  as  a  gift  of  food  or  clothing  or 
rent 

The  semi-philanthropic  organization  is  established  primarily  for  the  sake 
of  the  borrower,  but  it  is  capitalized  and  is  run  upon  business  principles,  not 
only  paying  expenses,  but  giving  a  small  profit  to  its  backers.  The  members  of 
the  National  Federation  of  Remedial  Loan  Societies  are  almost  entirely  of  this 
character.  These  are  business  organizations  with  a  social  purpose,  and  should 
be  stated  as  such.  They  are  not  charitable  in  the  sense  of  giving  something 
for  nothing,  and  they  are  not  commercial  in  the  sense  of  being  primarily  a 
money-making  enterprise.  Their  dividends  are  usually  limited  by  law. 

The  purely  business  type  is  organized  primarily  as  a  matter  of  investment. 
While  it  may  serve  a  definite  social  purpose,  it  is  not  organized  for  that  purpose 
and  performs  it  only  incidentally.  These  organizations  keep  within  the  law  and 
so  are  not  to  be  confused  with  the  loan  shark  whose  characteristic  is  that  of 
usurious  money-lending. 

The  self-help  type  probably  the  most  constructive  of  all  is  the  fourth  which 
is  exemplified  in  the  credit  unions  and  employes  co-operative  associations  already 
described.  They  put  a  premium  upon  thrift  and  saving  and  the  element  of 
mutual  benefit,  appraise  character  at  its  highest,  and  recognize  it  as  a  definite 
form  of  security.  An  additional  advantage  resides  in  the  fact  that  they  are 
independently  organized  and  so  their  success  or  failure  depends  upon  them- 
selves. 

V.     CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The  community  must  come  to  realize  that  in  dealing  with  the  usurer  it  is 
dealing  with  a  power  of  first  magnitude,  one  that  is  backed  by  large  capital,  in 
some  cases  by  political  and  personal  influence,  and  that  it  is  based  upon  a 
definitely  correlated  organization.  Against  such  entrenched  forces  something 
more  is  needed  than  an  occasional  outburst  of  righteous  indignation.  It  is  a 
system  which  must  be  undermined,  and  this  cannot  be  accomplished  by  the 
elimination  of  an  occasional  operator  or  two.  Loan  shark  organization  must  be 
opposed  by  a  more  powerful  organization;  adequate  legislation  adequately  en- 
forced must  be  put  on  the  statute  books;  adequate  provision  must  be  made  to 
serve  the  need  which  the  loan  shark  has  made  his  peculiar  property  in  a 
cheaper  and  better  way;  the  loan  shark  must  be  met  with  his  own  weapons 
and  in  his  own  field;  competition  must  be  afforded  which  he  shall  be  compelled 
to  meet. 

Unhappy  as  the  situation  is  at  the  present  time  with  reference  to  the 
business  of  extortionate  money-lending,  as  has  been  set  forth  in  the  preceding 
pages,  the  situation  is  by  no  means  hopeless.  It  is  incumbent,  however,  upon 
the  public  spirited  citizens  of  Chicago  to  get  behind  an  organized  movement 
against  the  business.  In  such  a  movement  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare 
is  ready  to  assist.  The  materials  which  have  been  assembled  during  the  pro- 
gress of  this  investigation  are  freely  at  the  service  of  the  public  if  they  can  be 
used  to  advantage  against  the  business. 

The  importance  of  substitutes  for  the  loan  shark  has  been  discussed.  Re- 
ligious and  philanthropic  societies,  employers'  loan  funds,  and  co-operative  loan 
associations,  fill  a  place  with  a  certain  limited  part  of  the  population.  But  for 
the  vast  majority  the  only  relief  lies  in  the  establishment  of  remedial  loan 
societies  open  to  the  general  public.  These  should  be  closely  supervised  and 
should  have  dividends  returnable  to  investors  limited  to  such  a  percentage  that 
there  will  be  no  inducement  to  enter  the  business  because  of  large  profits. 
Interest  charges  should  be  made  as  low  as  is  consistent  with  business  security, 

31 


frankly  recognizing  the  fact  that  such  a  business  must  charge  a  higher  rate 
than  banking  interests,  because  of  the  greater  risk,  and  the  heavier  overhead 
expense.  Borrowers  should  be  safe-guarded  by  law  in  every  possible  way,  that 
extortion  may  not  be  practiced. 

There  should  be  remedial  loan  provision  for  every  form  of  legitimate  secur- 
ity. We  may  distinguish  four  forms:  First  wage  assignments;  second,  portable 
chattels  of  a  pawnable  character;  third  non-portable  chattels,  such  as  household 
goods,  etc.;  and  fourth,  personal  character. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  in  Chicago  remedial  loan  societies  covering 
the  first  two  of  these:  The  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  takes 
wage  assignments  as  security;  the  First  State  Fawners  Society  receives  portable 
chattels  and  pawnable  security.  The  other  two  fields  are  still  uncovered,  and  it 
does  not  seem  that  the  state  law  as  it  exists  at  present  would  permit  their 
erection.  This  is  a  matter  which  should  be  remedied  by  a  change  in  legislation. 

The  Department  of  Public  Welfare  therefore  recommends: 

1.  That  steps  be  taken  to  provide  remedial  loan  societies  which  will  accept 
non-portable  chattels  as  security  for  small  loans;  and 

2.  That  steps  be  taken  to  provide  remedial  loan  societies  which  will  make 
it  possible  for  personal  character  to  be  recognized  as  a  form  of  security.     This 
does  not  mean   that  any  person  shall  be  able  to  borrow  "upon  his  face,"  nor 
that  any  stranger  making  application  for  a  loan  to  the  remedial  society  shall 
be  granted   it  right  away  just  because   he  looks  honest.     It  does  mean   that 
machinery  should  be  provided  whereby  a  person  of  good  character,  who  can 
establish  that  fact  by  his  ability  to  secure  two  reliable  endorsers,  shall  be  al- 
lowed to  borrow,  within  certain  definite  limits,  without  other  security  than  these 
endorsements.    It  is  in  this  field  that  there  resides  at  the  present  time  probably 
the  greatest  need  not  yet  covered.     The  man  who  is  out  of  work  or  who  is  in 
temporary  stringency  on  account  of  his  income  being  temporarily  cut  off  has 
no  recourse  which  he  is  willing  to  employ.     Some  provision  should  be  made 
whereby  he  can  be  tided  over  and  still  keep  his  self-respect. 

In  the  establishment  of  such  societies  and  in  the  regulation  of  the  small 
loan  business  in  general,  there  are  a  number  of  important  phases  which  should 
be  covered.  It  is  the  opinion  of  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare,  after  con- 
ference with  some  of  the  leading  authorities  in  the  field,  that  any  law  to  he 
satisfactory  must  include  the  following  items: 

1.  No  person  or  corporation,  unless  they  are  licensed  and  supervised,  shall 
be   allowed    to   make    small    (loans    of    $200    or   $300,    or    less)    whatever    the 
form  of  security. 

2.  The  license  should  be  issued  by  a  department  of  the  State  of  Illinois; 
this  might  be  in  a  department  especially  created  for  the  purpose,  but  should 
preferably  be  a  branch   of  the  state  bank   department  or  the   state   auditor's 
office.    The  license  should  be  granted  to  be  renewed  annually. 

3.  The  person  or  corporation  so  licensed  should  be  required  to  file  a  bond  of 
not  less  than  one  thousand  dollars,  this  to  constitute  a  fund  from  which  any 
damages  could   be   drawn   in  case  they  should  be  awarded  by  the  court  to  a 
contestant  against  the  money  lender. 

4.  The  supervising  authority  should  be  empowered  and  required  to  examine 
the  books  and  business  methods  of  licensees,  at  least  once  a  year,  and  they 
should  be  required  to  provide  him  with  a  detailed  annual  report.     The  supervis- 
ing authority  should  be  empowered  and  authorized  to  refuse  to  issue  a  license 
when,  in  his  judgment,  there  is  danger  that  the  law  will  not  be  observed;   he 
should  under  no  circumstances  issue  one  without  previous  investigation  to  de- 
termine the  applicant's  fitness  to  hold  a  license.     The  power  to  revoke  licenses 
upon    sufficient    grounds,    should    also    reside    in    the    supervising    authority.      He 
should  have  power  to  make  necessary  rules  and  regulations. 

5.  The  rate  of  interest  should  be  not  to  exceed  3  per  cent,  a  month,  and  no 
additional  fees  of  any  sort  should  be  allowed.     Many  times  the  money  lender 
exacts  usury  under  other  forms  than  those  which  are  technically  classifiable 

32 


as  interest.  "Renewal  fees,"  "cost  of  extension,"  "appraisal  charges,"  "expenses 
of  investigation,"  etc.,  are  often  nothing  else  than  usury  in  disguise,  and  they 
should  be  carefully  guarded  against  to  the  end  that  the  spirit  as  well  as  the 
letter  of  the  law  may  be  observed.  Interest,  moreover,  should  be  charged 
only  on  unpaid  balances,  and  it  should  be  paid  only  after  it  has  been  earned — 
never  in  advance. 

6.  A  definite  limit  of  earnings  permitted  to  the  money  lender  should  be 
made     The   First   State   Industrial   Wage   Loan    Society   and   the   First    State 
Fawners  Society  are  limited  to  dividends  of  6  per  cent. 

7.  The  borrower  should  be  given  copies  or  memoranda  of  all  papers  signed 
by  him  in  connection  with  the  loan,  a  copy  of  the  law  regulating  charges,  and 
a  clear  statement  of  the  terms  of  the  loan.    He  should  be  given  receipts  for  all 
payments  made,  and  when  his  loan  is  liquidated  the  papers  originally  signed 
should  be  returned. 

8.  Loans  made  at  illegal  rates  should  be  made  void  and  unenforcible. 

9.  Penalties   of  fine   and   imprisonment   should   be   provided   for   persons 
operating  without  license,  and  for  licensed  operators  who  violate  the  law. 

The  Department  of  Public  Welfare  hopes  that  it  may  be  of  assistance  in 
getting  legislation  of  the  foregoing  character  written  into  the  statutes  of 
Illinois. 

With  the  field  covered  as  fully  as  it  would  be  should  such  recommendations 
as  the  above  be  put  into  effect,  it  is  realized  that  there  would  still  remain  the 
hopelessly  improvident,  the  person  who  is  willing  to  gratify  tastes  which  are 
beyond  his  means,  the  person  who  cannot  save  money,  and  who  is  willing  for 
the  pleasure  of  the  moment  to  pledge  away  his  future  earnings.  It  is  not 
desirable  that  any  provision  should  be  made  to  encourage  persons  in  these 
tendencies.  No  loan  should  be  made  which  is  not  constructive;  that  is,  unless  it 
contributes  in  some  way  to  the  actual  well-being  of  the  person  who  borrows. 
This  should  be  carefully  determined  by  every  society  in  every  case,  and  will  be 
determined  by  all  who  operate  conscientiously. 


33 


SOME    LEGISLATION    IN    ILLINOIS    WITH    REFERENCE    TO    USURIOUS 

MONEY    LENDING. 

By 

DANIEL  P.  TRUDE  and  M.  MARSO. 

The  language  of  the  State  of  Illinois  with  reference  to  the  rate  of  interest 
which  may  be  charged  is  the  following  (Kurd's  Revised  Statutes,  1915-1916, 
p.  1580,  chap.  74,  sections  4,  5  and  6) : 

"SEVEN  PER  CENT  MAT  BE  CONTRACTED  FOR.]  In  all  written  contracts  it 
shall  be  lawful  for  the  parties  to  stipulate  or  agree  that  seven  (7)  per  cent 
per  annum,  or  any  less  sum  of  interest,  shall  be  taken  and  paid  upon  every 
one  hundred  ($100)  dollars  of  money  loaned  or  in  any  manner  due,  or 
owing  from  any  person  or  corporation  to  any  other  person  or  corporation 
in  this  State,  and  after  that  rate  for  a  greater  or  less  sum,  or  for  a  longer 
or  shorter  term,  except  as  herein  provided. 

"No  GREATER  RATE  SHALL  BE  CONTRACTED  FOR.]  No  person  or  corpora- 
tion shall  directly  or  indirectly,  accept  or  receive,  in  money,  goods,  discounts, 
or  thing  in  action,  or  in  any  other  way,  any  greater  sum  or  greater  value, 
for  the  loan,  forbearance  or  discount  of  any  money,  goods  or  thing  in  action, 
than  as  above  prescribed. 

"PENALTY  FOR  CONTRACTING  FOR  MORE  THAN  SEVEN  PER  CENT.]  If  any 
person  or  corporation  in  this  State  shall  contract  to  receive  a  greater  rate 
of  interest  or  discount  than  seven  (7)  per  cent  upon  any  contract,  verbal  or 
written,  such  person  or  corporation  shall  forfeit  the  whole  of  said  interest  so 
contracted  to  be  received,  and  shall  be  entitled  only  to  recover  the  principal 
sum  due  to  such  person  or  corporation.  And  all  contracts  executed  after 
this  act  shall  take  effect,  which  shall  provide  for  interest  or  compensation 
at  a  greater  rate  than  herein  specified,  on  account  of  non-payment  at 
maturity,  shall  be  deemed  usurious,  and  only  the  principal  sum  thereon 
shall  be  recoverable." 

This  is  the  law  as  it  stands  on  the  statute  books  of  Illinois  at  the  present 
time,  in  violation  of  which  the  loan  shark  is  extensively  operating.  It  is  a 
prohibition  practically  without  penalty,  inasmuch  as  the  money  lender  is 
guaranteed  his  principal  in  any  event.  And  it  has  been  held  by  the  courts 
that  even  usurious  interest  cannot  be  recovered  once  it  has  been  voluntarily 
paid  by  the  borrower. 

It  is  this  law  which  makes  the  loan  shark's  business  absolutely  safe  as  well 
as  a  most  remunerative  occupation.  The  usurious  money  lender  may  safely 
count  on  the  fact  that  at  least  99  out  of  every  100  borrowers  do  not  know  that 
this  is  the  law.  And  he  may  safely  expect  that  few  of  those  who  do  know  the 
law  will  be  in  a  financial  position  to  invoke  it.  If  the  law  is  invoked  nothing 
comes  of  it  which  can  in  anyway  interfere  with  his  further  operaton. 

Wth  reference  to  wage  assignments  as  security  in  particular: 

Prior  to  the  amendment  of  Section  18  of  the  Practice  Act,  which  amendment 
was  passed  in  1915,  the  person  who  borrowed  money  from  a  loan  shark  was 
assigned  his  wages  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  debt  was  practically  at  his 
mercy. 

A  person  who  borrows  money  has  a  right  to  assign  his  wages  earned  or 
to  be  earned  from  his  present  employer  to  secure  the  payment  of  the  money  he 
so  borrowed,  and  the  loan  shark  has  a  legal  right  to  accept  such  an  assignment, 
and  it  is  valid  and  binding  on  the  parties  interested  (Massie  v.  Cessna.  239  111. 
352),  and  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  amendment  to  Section  18  of  the  Practice 
Act  in  an  action  brought  by  the  loan  shark  against  the  employe  on  the  assign- 
ment of  wages  so  given  to  secure  payment  of  the  debt,  the  loan  shark  was 
entitled  to  recover  from  the  employer,  the  amount  due  to  the  employe  (the 
borrower)  from  the  date  notice  of  such  assignment  was  given  to  the  employer 
to  the  time  of  the  commencement  of  the  suit.  This  was  irrespective  of  the 
amount  that  might  be  due  to  the  loan  shark  from  the  employe,  or  whether 

34 


that  amount  exceeded  or  was  less  than  the  amount  due  from  the  employer  to 
the  employe  (the  borrower).  The  courts  were  bound  to  enforce  the  assignment 
of  wages  strictly. 

If  the  amount  of  wages  due  the  borrower,  and  recovered  by  the  loan  shark 
from  the  employer,  exceeded  the  amount  due  the  loan  shark  from  the  borrower, 
the  borrower  was  relegated  to  an  action  against  the  loan  shark  to  recover  the 
difference.  (Independent  Credit  Company  v.  South  Chicago  City  Railway  Co., 
121  111.  App.  595.)  • 

The  act  of  1915  above  referred  to  provides  inter  alia: 

"that  in  all  cases  in  which  the  chose  in  action  sued  upon  shall  have  been 
assigned  for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  payment  of  an  indebtedness  from 
the  assignor  to  the  assignee  thereof,  and  in  which  the  chose  in  action  so 
assigned  consists  of  wages  due  or  to  become  due  to  the  assignor  thereof 
from  the  defendant  in  such  action,  at  least  five  days  written  notice  of  the 
pendency  of  such  suit  shall  be  served  upon  the  assignor  of  such  chose  in 
action,  before  the  trial  of  the  same;  and  upon  application  of  the  assignor 
of  such  chose  in  action  the  court  shall  allow  said  assignor  to  interplead  and 
be  made  a  party  to  such  action;  and  said  assignor,  or  the  defendant  to  said 
suit  in  behalf  of  said  assignor,  shall  be  allowed  to  set  up  or  affirmatively 
maintain  any  just  set  off,  discount  or  defense  which  said  assignor  may  have 
to  said  assignment  of  said  chose  in  action,  or  to  the  indebtedness  the  payment 
of  which  is  secured  by  the  assignment  of  said  chose  in  action;  and  the 
court  by  jury  or  otherwise,  shall  ascertain  the  amount  of  such  indebtedness 
remaining  due  and  unpaid  from  the  assignor  to  the  assignee  of  such  chose 
in  action  and  the  judgment,  if  any,  against  the  defendant  in  said  suit 
shall  not  exceed  the  amount  so  found  to  be  due  and  unpaid  from  the 
assignor  to  the  assignee  of  said  chose  in  action,  and  judgment  for  the 
balance,  if  any,  remaining  due  from  the  defendant,  upon  said  assigned 
chose  in  action,  shall  be  rendered  in  favor  of  the  assignor  and  against  the 
defendant  in  said  suit  or  proceeding;  and  the  court  may  make  such  order 
as  to  the  costs  of  said  suit  as  may  be  equitable." 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  under  this  act,  Courts  of  Law  are  virtually 
vested  with  equitable  jurisdiction  in  action  brought  in  such  courts  on  assign- 
ments of  wages  given  to  secure  the  payment  of  a  debt,  and  can  in  such  actions 
inquire  fully  into  the  dealings  and  transactions  had  between  the  parties  and 
equitably  adjust  the  same  and  do  complete  justice  between  the  loan  shark  and 
his  victim. 


35 


THE   FIBST   STATE   INDUSTRIAL   WAGE   LOAN   SOCIETY. 

By 
ARTHUR  B.  HILL,  General  Manager. 

The  "loan  shark"  question,  or  rather  the  problem  of  handling  employes 
who  are  forced  to  borrow  money  for  personal  needs  but  who  have  no  bankable 
security  has  been  a  great  source  of  worry  to  employers  of  large  concerns  for 
many  jfears.  Many  ideas  and  plans  have  been  brought  forward  and  tried  out, 
some  proving  successful  for  that  particular  concern  trying  them  out,  while 
other  ideas  and  plans  that  sounded  plausible  in  theory  have  not  worked  out 
when  put  into  practice.  The  good  work  has  not  been  as  extensive  as  it  should 
have  been. 

Some  years  ago  many  of  our  most  prominent  establishments  passed  a  rule 
among  their  employes,  i.  e.  to  borrow  money  from  a  so-called  "loan  shark" 
would  mean  immediate  discharge  from  their  service.  They  hoped  that  in 
passing  this  drastic  rule  they  would  be  able  to  eliminate  the  evil  from  their 
ranks.  The  effect,  unfortunately,  was  just  the  opposite  from  what  they  in- 
tended it  should  be.  They  forgot  that  many  of  the  loans  made  from  the  "loan 
sharks"  were  for  absolute  necessities  and  that  the  only  place  open  for  them 
to  go  for  money  was  to  the  "loan  shark"  and  take  a  chance  of  their  employer 
not  knowing  of  the  transaction.  This  rule  assisted  the  "loan  shark"  in  collect- 
ing usurious  interest,  for  should  the  borrower  become  delinquent  the  loan  agent 
would  endeavor  to  collect  his  money  by  threatening  to  inform  the  employer  of 
the  fact  that  his  employe  had  become  a  borrower  from  him  and  the  employe 
knew  that  this  would  mean  his  position.  Instead  of  lessening  the  evil,  the 
employers  unconsciously  assisted  the  "loan  shark"  in  his  illegal  trade.  Un- 
fortunately, there  are  still  some  employers  who  think  that  they  can  eliminate 
the  "loan  sharks"  by  threatening  their  employes  with  discharge,  but  most  of 
the  larger  concerns  are  convinced  by  experience  that  the  rule  has  had  the 
opposite  effect  from  that  intended.  Many  concerns  have  established  a  loan 
bank  where  any  employe  of  the  concern  who  needs  money  and  has  a  good 
reason  for  borrowing  can  secure  a  loan  at  rates  of  interest  varying  from  nothing 
up  to  5  per  cent,  a  month.  This  method  of  fighting  the  illegal  money  lender 
has  proven  very  successful  and  has  created  a  very  friendly  feeling  between 
employer  and  employe,  the  latter  feeling  that  his  concern  has  a  particular 
interest  in  his  welfare  and  is  desirous  of  assisting  him  to  progress.  It  would 
be  a  blessing  if  more  concerns  would  adopt  this  method  of  establishing  banks, 
the  funds  of  which  are  to  be  loaned  to  their  employes. 

The  trouble  with  a  small  loan  bank  established  by  a  private  concern  is  that 
the  benefit  is  confined  only  to  the  employes  of  that  particular  concern.  An 
employe  who  happens  to  be  working  for  a  concern  that  has  not  yet  started  a 
bank  must  go  to  the  "loan  shark"  for  relief. 

The  Industrial  Club  of  Chicago,  composed  of  prominent  men  of  this  city, 
undertook  to  give  the  loan  question  the  careful  study  and  thought  that  was 
necessary,  to  see  if  there  was  not  some  way  of  improving  conditions  for  wage 
earners  in  general.  As  a  result  of  their  study,  a  law  was  passed  allowing  the 
formation  of  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society,  a  $50,000.00  cor- 
poration, the  stock  of  which  was  fully  subscribed  by  its  members.  Within  a 
year  it  was  found  necessary  to  double  the  capitalization.  The  purpose  of  this 
Society  is  to  loan  to  wage  earners  regardless  of  where  they  are  employed.  The 
illegal  loan  companies  have  found  in  this  Society  a  real  competitor  that  meets 
them  on  their  own  grounds  with  their  own  weapons.  If  a  person  owes  one  or 
more  "loan  sharks"  he  may  go  to  this  Society  and  they  will  figure  up  a  reason- 
able amount  of  interest  due  the  money  lender  and  make  him  a  legal  tender  and 
demand  the  signatures  of  the  borrower  on  all  papers  that  he  may  have  signed  at 
the  time  he  made  the  loan.  For  this  service  the  Society  charges  nothing.  In 
the  case  that  the  "loan  shark"  victim  does  not  have  enough  money  to  square 
up  with  the  illegal  money  lender,  the  Society  will  loan  him  enough  money  to 
put  him  on  his  feet.  Should  the  "loan  shark"  refuse  the  Society's  legal  tender, 
the  Society  requests  the  employer  to  ignore  the  "loan  shark's"  assignment  of 
wages,  in  the  case  that  he  has  filed  a  notice  of  the  same  with  the  employer,  for 

36 


which  they  guarantee  the  employer  against  loss,  should  he  be  sued  for  failure 
to  recognize  the  illegal  assignment  of  wages.  The  Society  furnishes  without 
cost  to  the  employer  a  competent  attorney  to  defend  suits  of  this  nature. 

The  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  opened  its  doors  for  busi- 
ness on  November  7th,  1913,  at  25  North  Dearborn  street.  The  co-operation 
that  the  Society  has  received  at  the  hands  of  employers  of  the  City  of  Chicago 
has  been  wonderful.  All  lines  of  business  have  joined  with  them  to  make  the 
Society  a  success.  The  hopes  of  the  originators  of  this  movement  have  been 
more  than  realized.  The  loss  on  bad  accounts  has  been  surprisingly  low.  The 
success  of  this  Society  has  been  most  gratifying  to  all  concerned.  This  Society 
is  the  only  remedial  salary  loan  society  in  the  United  States.  There  are  several 
pawn  and  chattel  mortgage  remedial  loan  societies,  but  only  one  strictly  salary 
loan  society.  This  Society  is  a  member  of  the  National  Federation  of  Remedial 
Loan  Associations,  of  which  thirty-five  other  remedial  loan  companies  extend- 
ing from  coast  to  coast,  are  members.  The  movement  of  this  Federation  was 
started  by  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation  several  years  ago. 

The  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society,  in  its  three  years  of  opera- 
tion, has  made  the  following  record: 

Total  number  of  loans  made 7,046 

Total  amount  of  money  loaned  out $401,290.00 

The  outstanding  loans  on  October  28th,-1916 95,503.29 

Saved  "loan  shark"  victims  about 15.000.00 

Over  2,500  settlements  have  been  made  with  the  "loan  sharks." 

The  law  under  which  the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  operates 
permits  that  only  a  dividend  of  6  per  cent,  a  year  be  paid  the  stockholders. 

The  first  year  the  Society's  expenses  were  $3,120.08  more  than  its  revenues. 
In  1915  they  not  only  recovered  their  loss  but  gained  a  surplus  of  $922.32.  At 
the  end  of  this  year  they  hope  to  have  a  substantial  surplus,  and  in  time,  which 
they  hope  will  not  be  far  away,  reduce  their  rate  of  interest  to  the  borrower. 

The  stockholders  of  this  society  decided  to  experiment  with  the  salary  loan 
business  for  two  reasons:  first,  because  it  was  the  most  abused  branch  of  the  loan 
business,  and  second,  to  demonstrate  the  falsity  of  the  argument  held  by  the  loan 
shark  that  it  is  impossible  to  make  salary  loans  at  a  lower  rate  than  10  per  cent,  a 
month,  due  to  the  great  risk  and  actual  loss  incurred. 

The  main  feaures  of  our  work  may  be  thus  summarized: 

1.  We  not  only  anticipate  the  need  for  a  loan,  but  we  also  fight  the  loan 
shark  on  behalf  of  his  victim. 

2.  We  enlist  the  employers  on  behalf  of  the  distressed  employes  to  such 
a  degree  that  many  employers  send  their  men  to  us  for  loans. 

3.  We  make  a  study  of  the  reasons  given  for  obtaining  loans,  and  try  to 
effect  a  change  in  conditions. 

We  have  not  striven  to  make  a  record  for  volume  of  business.  We  have 
scrutinized  very  closely  the  reasons  for  borrowing,  and  the  purpose  for  which 
the  money  is  to  be  used  must  be  a  legitimate  one.  This  matter  is  investigated 
as  thoroughly  as  the  borrower  himself.  When  a  man  seeks  a  loan  from  us,  in 
effect  we  put  a  hand  on  his  shoulder,  call  his  employer  and  friends  and  go  into 
conference  with  them  all  to  find  out  how  best  to  tide  over  the  period  of  distress 
and  stringency.  We  do  not  want  the  pound  of  flesh.  We  wish  to  lift  every  man 
to  his  feet,  so  that  he  may  again  stand  erect  and  look  every  man  in  the  eye. 
A  loan  with  us  is  an  honest  loan,  or  we  do  not  make  it. 

The  good  work  of  our  Society  has  just  begun.  Backed  by  men  of  wealth, 
influence  and  high  standing  in  the  community,  recognized  as  a  philanthropic 
undertaking  in  many  senses  of  the  word,  and  doing  a  work  that  is  undeniably 
good,  it  undoubtedly  will  prove  its  basic  principles  to  be  sound,  if  it  has  not 
done  so  already. 

The  day  for  an  exorbitant  rate  of  interest  on  salary  or  chattel  mortgages  is 
swiftly  passing.  The  Legislature  is  awakening  to  the  fact  that  laws  governing 
small  loans  must  be  passed. 

The  City  of  Chicago  should  control  the  salary  and  chattel  loan  offices  and 
attach  a  substantial  license  fee  in  the  same  way  that  it  now  controls  the 
pawn  shops. 

37 


Summary  of  Five  Months'  Work  by  the  First  Industrial. 
From  January  1st,  1916 — June  1st,  1916. 

(1)  We  have  had  4159  male  callers  and  112  female  callers. 

(2)  We  have  made  1390  loans  amounting  to  $85,810.00. 

(3)  Of  the  above  1390  loans  (1288  were  males 

(  102  were  females 

(  994  were  married 

(  396  were  single 

(     58  were  earning  $12.00  or  less  per  week. 

(  940  were  earning  from  $12.00 — $25.00  per  week. 

(  392  were  earning  $25.00  or  over  per  week. 

(1088  were  for  home  necessities. 

(  213  were  to  pay  loan  companies. 

(  399  were  for  sickness. 

(4)  We  made  200  loans  to  real  estate  holders. 

(6)     Of  the  above  1390  loans  made  this  year  534  were  engaged  in  commercial 

lines. 

177  were  engaged  in  manufactur- 
ing lines. 

345  were  engaged  in  transporta- 
tion business. 

303  were  engaged  in  government 
service. 

31  were  engaged  in  miscellane- 
ous lines. 

(6)  401  settlements  were  made  with  loan  companies. 

(7)  We  paid  $12,109.00  out  to  the  loan  companies  for  settlements  and  saved  the 

vistims  $3,002.30. 

Since  the  Start  of  Business  in  November,  1913,  and  Up  To  June  1st,  1916. 

(1)  We  have  made  5805  loans  amounting  to  $322,070.00. 

(2)  We  have  had  23100  male  and  1000  female  callers. 

(3)  We  have  made  2004  loan  company  settlements. 

(4)  We  have  paid  out  to  the  loan  companies  for  these  settlements  approxi- 

mately $31,630.00. 

(5)  We  saved  the  "loan  shark"  victims  approximately  $19,000.00. 

The  officers  and  directors  of  the  society  are  as  follows: 

W.  Rufus  Abbott Chicago  Telephone  Company. 

Gustave  F.  Fischer Rubens,  Fischer  &  Mosser. 

Louis  Mohr John  Mohr  &  Son. 

Henry  Beneke Hibbard,  Spencer,  Bartlett  &  Co. 

D.  F.  Kelly Mandel  Brothers. 

Marvin  B.  Pool Butler  Brothers. 

William  H.  Rehm Hotz  &  Rehm. 

Appointed  by  Governor. 
Harry  J.  Powers Powers  Theatre. 

Appointed  by  Mayor. 

Howard  G.  Hetzler Western  Indiana  R.  R. 

Arthur  E.   Hill General  Manager. 

38 


FIRST   STATE   FAWNERS   SOCIETY. 

By 
SAMUEL    WOLFORT,    Manager. 

For  a  number  of  years  Chicago  Pawnbrokers  had  no  competition  and  were 
reaping  a  harvest  by  charging  a  rate  of  interest  from  5  per  cent,  a  month  to  10 
per  cent,  a  month,  and  even  higher  rates  on  small  loans.  The  legal  rate  at  all 
times  was  only  3  per  cent.  Very  little  attention  was  paid  to  the  law,  as  it  cost 
the  borrower  too  much  to  invoke  its  aid. 

The  Merchants  Club,  an  organization  of  Chicago's  foremost  citizens,  some 
years  ago  realized  the  injustice  to  the  poor  and  needy  in  demanding  such  high 
interest,  and  seeking  a  way  to  remedy  this  evil,  had  a  bill  drawn  up  and  passed 
by  the  Legislature  at  Springfield  allowing  the  incorporation,  under  the  control 
of  the  State  Bank  Examiner,  of  corporations  having  a  paid  up  capital  of 
$50,000.00,  to  organize  and  loan  money  at  a  rate  not  to  exceed  1  per  cent,  for 
interest  and  V.2  per  cent,  for  insurance  and  storage.  This  law  provides  that 
pledges  are  redeemable  at  any  time  within  thirteen  months  from  the  time  loan 
is  made;  and  if  not  redeemed,  must  be  sold  at  public  auction,  and  any  surplus 
received  from  the  sale  of  said  ^pledge  above  the  amount  loaned  (together  with 
the  interest  and  cost  of  selling)  is  to  be  returned  to  the  pledger  upon  his  demand 
at  any  time  within  two  years  from  date  of  sale. 

After  the  passage  in  1899  of  this  act  a  number  of  members  of  the  Merchants 
Club  subscribed  for  stock  amounting  to  $50,000.00  and  organized  The  First 
State  Fawners  Society,  which  is  now  located  at  27  West  Washington  street. 

This  Society  was  so  successful  that  a  few  years  later  they  reduced  the  in- 
terest rate  to  1  per  cent,  a  month,  covering  all  charges. 

Demands  for  money  have  been  so  great  that  the  capital  has  been  increased 
from  time  to  time,  until  at  present  $800,000.00  has  been  paid  in.  Seeing  an 
apparently  good  demand  in  the  locality,  the  directors  of  this  Society,  on  Sep- 
tember 1st,  1916,  opened  a  second  office  at  39  South  Halsted  street.  It  was  not 
expected  that  success  would  be  great  the  first  year,  but  while  not  at  present 
on  a  paying  basis,  business  is  as  good  as  was  expected,  and  improving. 

The  annual  report  of  the  Society  for  the  year  ending  September  30,  1916, 
shows: 

Number  of  loans  made  $      68,435.00 

Amount   advanced    1,883,745.50 

Since  1899  the  Society  has  made  617,346  loans,  amounting  to  $14,172,416.00. 
The  officers  and  directors  of  the  Society  are  as  follows: 

John  V.  Farwell,  President.  Rollin  A.  Keyes, 

John  G.  Shedd,  Vice-President.  Edward  B.  Butler,       ^   Directors 

David  R.  Forgan,  Treasurer.  Edward  A.  Bancroft  ) 

Thomas  E.  Donnelley,  Secretary.  John  W.  Scott, 

Appointed  by  the  Governor. 
Samuel   Wolfort,  Manager.  Frank  H.  Jones, 

Appointed  by  the  Mayor. 


39 


A  STATEMENT  FEOM  CALLAHAN  AND  CAT.T.A.HAN,  ATTORNEYS. 

Since  April,  1916,  the  law  firm  of  Callahan  and  Callahan  has  been  engaged 
in  a  campaign  against  "loan  sharks."  During  the  seven  months  they  have 
handled  nearly  eleven  hundred  cases  for  victims  of  the  usurers.  Some  have 
been  settled  on  the  basis  of  the  actual  principal  due  the  loan  concerns;  others 
on  the  chancery  side  of  the  Circuit  and  Superior  Courts;  for  still  others  relief 
has  been  sought  and  secured  in  bankruptcy  proceedings  in  the  United  States 
District  Court.  Time  and  money  have  been  sacrificed  in  affording  relief  to  the 
victims. 

A  definite  campaign  of  publicity  against  the  loan  sharks,  with  which  the 
public  is  familiar,  has  been  conducted  in  the  newspapers. 

The  firm  is  now  engaged  in  making  a  poll  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature 
of  Illinois  to  ascertain  their  attitude  toward  a  rational  bill  looking  to  the  elimina- 
tion of  the  loan  shark  evil. 

The  salient  features  of  the  bill,  the  firm  believes,  should  provide:  (1)  for  a 
maximum  rate  of  interest  on  salary  and  chattel  loans  of  $300  and  less,  of  3  per 
cent  a  month;  (2)  for  supervision  of  loan  concerns  by  the  State,  either  by  the 
State  banking  department,  or  through  a  state  supervisor  of  loan  agencies;  and 
(3)  for  the  wife's  signature  to  an  assignment  of  her  husband's  wages,  and 
other  limitations  on  wage  assignments,  limitations  such  as  acceptance  by  the 
employer,  recording  with  the  City  Clerk,  reasonable  limitation  as  to  how  long 
an  assignment  shall  be  valid,  etc. 

Every  letter  which  the  firm  has  received  in  its  poll  of  legislators  has  been 
favorable,  and  there  is  every  probability  that  a  proper  bill  will  be  enacted  into 
law  by  the  next  General  Assembly  of  this  State. 

JAMES   E.    CALLAHAN. 


40 


Appendices 


Prepared  by  Mabel  E.  Gregg  and  Earle  E.  Eubank. 


APPENDIX  A-I. 

MONEY    LENDERS    WHO    ARE    MEMBERS    OF    THE    CLEARING    HOUSE, 
AGAINST  WHOM  THERE  ARE  DEFINITE  LOAN  SHARK  RECORDS. 


EXPLANATORY  NOTE. 

Appendix  A  comprises  a  list  of  persons,  firms,  companies  or  corporations 
actively  engaged  in  loaning  money  on  salaries  or  chattels  in  the  city  at  the 
present  time. 

It  would  not  be  possible  to  list  all  those  who  are  so  engaged,  as  the  number 
operating  sub  rosa  could  not  be  determined  and  scarcely  a  firm  of  any  import- 
ance but  has,  or  has  had,  some  employe  who  filled  that  capacity  among  his 
fellows  to  some  extent. 

At  the  outset  of  the  study,  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  different  names 
were  recorded  by  thorough  search  of  every  possible  avenue  of  information.  The 
number  was  later  augmented  by  a  few  more,  but  they  form  the  basis  of  this 
directory  and  the  statistical  deductions  found  elsewhere. 

Against  one  hundred  ninety-nine  of  these  agencies  there  were  found 
definite  records  of  complaints  and  adjustments  in  the  Legal  Aid  Society,  and 
the  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society.  This  number  was  materially 
reduced  as  later  investigation  revealed  that  in  many  cases,  one  person  or  firm 
was  represented  more  than  once  due  to  the  fact  that  said  firm  or  person  was 
operating  several  different  places  or  in  one  place  under  several  different  names. 
Sometimes  it  developed  that  the  technical  defendant  was  merely  an  employe 
or  "dummy"  acting  for  the  real  loan  agent.  In  other  cases,  one  person  or  firm 
was  found  to  have  interest  in  or  was  a  stockholder  in  more  than  one  loan 
agency  in  the  city,  and  sometimes  in  one  or  more  different  cities  and  states. 
This  will  explain  both  the  later  reduction  in  the  apparent  number  of  agencies, 
and  the  key  number  before  each  entry. 

This  key  number  corresponds  with  the  original  number  given  each  agent 
at  the  beginning  of  the  study,  and  is  preserved  throughout  to  retain  the  identity 
of  the  agent.  When  a  group  of  numbers  appears,  it  indicates  those  firms  or 
agencies  which  are  operated  by  the  same  owners,  listed  singly  in  the  beginning 
of  the  study,  but  which  have  been  absorbed  by  the  one  described,  or  it  indicates 
that  some  connection  exists  between  the  individuals  indicated  by  the  numbers. 

The  piquant  jargon  of  the  fraternity  is  quoted  at  times.  It  is  terse  and 
pithy — expressive  alike  of  the  point  in  mind  and  the  terminology  which  the 
business  has  developed.  The  man  who  has  changed  his  address  to  avoid  his 
obligation  is  a  "skip,"  his  account  becomes  a  "skip  account."  The  tracer  is  a 
"skip-hunter."  The  loan  shark's  capital  is  his  "turnover,"  and  he  speaks  not 
of  his  annual  business,  as  a  rule,  but  the  "monthly  turnover." 

The  letter  "R"  refers  to  the  roster  and  indicates  that  further  pertinent  and 
valuable  information  of  a  personal  or  general  character  bearing  upon  the  agency 
or  the  subject  in  hand,  may  be  found  in  the  roster  on  file  in  the  Department 
of  Public  Welfare.  It  contains  the  names  of  the  owners,  business  associates; 
"backers"  and  managers  who  have  been  found  connected  with  the  loan  business 
in  Chicago  during  recent  years. 

All  who  were  found  loaning  money,  without  regard  to  the  extent  to  which 
they  engage  in  the  practice  are  listed  here.  The  importance  of  some  is  negligi- 
ble,— except  as  to  principle.  The  fact,  not  the  extent  of  the  business,  placed 
them  in  the  category.  For  the  most  part  however,  they  carry  on  a  business 
of  at  least  fair  proportions  as  the  -approximations  indicate.  Where  none  appears, 
our  informants  did  not  feel  qualified  to  make  them. 

42 


Among  the  199  agencies  against  whom  over  3,300  cases  are  recorded,  some 
were  found  to  be  installment  houses  and  were  retired  from  this  group  as 
irrelevant  to  the  present  study  though  in  themselves  deserving  of  attention. 
Others  were  "Collection,"  "Realization,"  or  "Adjustment"  companies,  an  ex- 
planation of  whose  functions  in  relation  to  the  loan  business  is  described  else- 
where. These  too,  were  retired  from  the  list  for  the  above  reason  although 
obviously  an  instrument  of  the  business. 

As  the  list  goes  to  press,  it  is  fairly  accurate,  This  is  all  we  claim. 
Revision  has  constantly  been  necessary  since  the  study  began  as  the  number 
as  well  as  the  locations,  names  and  personnel  are  constantly  shifting. 

The  balance  of  those  removed  was  classed  as  "doubtful,  absorbed  by  others, 
defunct  or  in  other  lines."  This  is  self-explanatory. 

The  original  data  upon  which  this  study  is  based  is  on  file  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Public  Welfare,  and  is  open  to  the  inspection  of  properly  authorized 
persons. 

[M.  E.  G.] 


Key  No. 

2     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Specialty:  Business  among  Fire  and  Police  Department  em- 

ployes. 

Incorporation:  A  firm  of  similar  name  was  incorporated  in  1914, 

but  identity  of  the  two  firms  is  not  established. 

Approximate  Business:    $50,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Not  the  actual  name  of  the  proprietor. 

5     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:        First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Approximate   Business:   $55,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Believed  to  be  a  relative  of  proprietor  of  No.  2 — 

not  real  name,  which  was  revealed  in  the  course 
of  recent  legal  proceedings  and  not  denied  in 
Judge  Landis'  court. 

7     Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
Approximate   Business:   $50,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Listed  as  a  chattel  loan  agent,  but  has  record  of 

salary  loans  also. 


10     Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Specialty:  "Five-minute  loans." 

Approximate  Business:    $75,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Claims  to  be  a  new  company. 

43 


Key  No. 

14     Chattel  and  Salary  Loans,  and  2nd  Mortgage  Real  Estate  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 

Advertising:  Display  in  telephone  directory;  also  newspaper. 

Specialty:  Quick  loans— $10.00  and  up. 

Approximate  Business:    $150,000.00  a  year. 

27    Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  vider  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Approximate  Business:    $90,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Near  transportation  terminal;  convenient  to  rail- 

way employes. 

30    Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $60,000.00  a  year. 

35  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:        Legal  Aid  Society: 

Incorporation:  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 

pany a  West  Virginia  corporation;  was  licensed 
to  do  business  in  this  state  January  10,  1903. 
The  certificate  of  authority  was  canceled  April 
15,  1908." 

Approximate  Business:    $75,000.00  a  year. 

36  Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Incorporation:  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports: 

"This  company  was  incorporated  September  1, 
1903,  for  the  following  purposes: — for  the  ex- 
amination of  titles  to  real  and  personal  estates; 
to  furnish  information  upon  which  to  base 
credit;  to  transact  a  general  collecting  business, 
etc." 

Approximate  Business:    $125,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Operates  two  offices. 

37-154-193-11-1 

Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Approximate  Business:     $250,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  This  concern  is  supposed  to  be  under  the  same 

management  as  154  and  193;  also  has  connec- 
tions with  a  so-called  adjustment  company,  which 
conveniently  acts  as  "innocent  third  party." 

44 


Key  No. 

38-116-41-R 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

$20,000.00  a  year. 

Proprietor  at  one  time  manager  of  No.  41.     His 

brother  is  No.  74;  comparatively  new  under  this 

name. 


39     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Woman  proprietor. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First    State    Industrial 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Advertising: 
Specialty: 


Wage    Loan    Society    and 


Newspaper. 

Salary  loans  from  $10.00  to  $50.00. 
Incorporation:  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:     "This  com- 

pany was   incorporated  March  9,  1886,   for  the 
general  investment  business  and  the  charter  was 
canceled  July  1,  1902,  for  default  in  filling  an- 
nual report. 
Approximate  Business:   $50,000.00  a  year. 


40-99-R 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate   Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Newspaper. 

Salaried  people  and  housekeepers. 

$50,000.00  a  year. 

Owner  No.  99 — advertises  in  telephone  directory 
under  "Investments  and  Securities";  company 
is  under  "Salary  Loans,"  but  does  chattel  mort- 
gage business  also.  Very  long  record. 


41-36-74    . 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Advertising:  Newspaper  and  handbills. 

Specialty:  Specializes  in  household  furniture  loans;  also 

offers  inducements  to  "persons  who  are  sick  or 
out  of  work,  or  those  in  debt  for  taxes,  groceries, 
doctor  bills,  etc.,  to  allow  them  to  put  them  on 
their  feet  again." 

Incorporation:  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 

pany was  incorporated  May  16,  1887,  for  the  fol- 
lowing purpose:  To  lease  a  building  or  apart- 
ment; to  sub-let  the  same  or  a  part  thereof;  to 
solicit  loans  on  real  and  personal  estate  for  a 
commission;  to  solicit  purchases  and  sales  of 
real  and  personal  estate  for  commission;  to 
transact  a  general  collecting  business,  etc. 

Approximate  Business:   $250,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Style  themselves  "The  Old  Reliable"  and  claim 

to  be  the  oldest  loan  concern  in  the  state,  doing 
by  far  the  largest  business.  Has  a  very  exten- 

45 


sive  record  with  both  the  First  State  Industrial 
Wage  Loan  Society  and  the  Legal  Aid  Society. 
Among  the  wealthiest.  Operates  two  offices 
here.  Owners  have  long  chain  of  offices  here  and 
elsewhere,  said  to  be  seventy  in  all.  An  aged 
woman  is  said  to  be  technically  the  owner,  but 
her  son,  prominent  in  society,  is  the  virtual  op- 
erator. The  manager  of  this  concern  admits  a 
salary  of  $12,000  a  year,  and  asserts  that  three 
managers  in  various  loan  companies  in  this  city 
receive  an  aggregate  of  $24,000  a  year,  and  that 
his  salary  is  no  more  than  this  company  is  pay- 
ing its  other  managers  in  some  of  the  other 
cities. 

(R)  Nos  36  and  74  said  to  be  owned  by  the  same 
capital. 


Key  No. 

42     Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business : 
Remarks: 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Newspaper   (blind  ads). 
Loans  on  household  furniture. 
$200,000.00  a  year. 
Said  to  be  owned  by  one  of  the  wealthiest  pioneers 

in  the  business  (R) ;  reputed  to  be  several  times 

a  millionaire;  operated  several  companies  at  one 

time. 


46-47  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Newspaper. 

Loans  "while  you  wait." 
$200,000.00  a  year. 
Run  on  Boston  capital.     Manager  said  to  be  an 

attorney. 


47-46-154-194 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record: 


48 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Newspaper. 
$75,000.00  a  year. 

Apparently  under  the  same  ownership  as  No.  48, 
but  may  be  under  the  same  direction  as  No.  154 
and  No.  194. 

Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 
In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Advertising: 
Approximate  Business 
Remarks: 


Loan  Shark  Record: 


Advertising: 
Specialty : 
Approximate 
Remarks : 


Business: 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Newspaper. 

$10.00  loans  and  upward  on  salary  and  furniture. 
$150,000.00  a  year. 
In  the  same  office  with  No.  160 — reason  to  think 

they  have  combinea. 


46 


Key  No. 

57     Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         Legal  Aid  Society. 

Approximate  Business:   $50,000.00  a  year. 

Remarks:  Deals  with  Illinois  Central  Railway  employes. 


60     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. . 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

$65,000.00  a  year. 

Is  an  ex-switchman  of  the  St.  Paul  Railway; 
specializes  with  C.  &  N.  W.  and  St.  Paul  Rail- 
way employes. 


61-164 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Newspaper. 
$70,000.00  a  year. 
Manager  is  an  attorney  by  profession. 


Advertising: 

Approximate  Business: 

Remarks: 
64-66-20-77 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
$150,000.00  a  year. 

Has  very  long  record  with  the  above  secieties. 
Styled  the  livest  salary  loan  agent  in  the  city. 
When  No.  20 — a  woman — (R)  retired  on  her 
marriage  to  a  prominent  business  man,  No.  64 
purchased  all  the  "live  accounts."  The  so-called 
"skip  accounts"  were  sold  to  No.  3,  who  has  a 
reputation  for  making  collections. 


68 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

$65,000.00  a  year. 

Operated  by  the  son  of  the  so-called  "King  of  Loan 
Sharks,"  who  claimed  to  do  business  in  sixty- 
six  different  cities. 


69     Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

$70,000.00  a  year. 

While  classified  as  a  chattel  agent,  has  record  of 
salary  loans.  Evidence  indicates  that  this  com- 
pany is  persistent  and  relentless  in  effecting 
settlements. 


70    Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record:        First    State    Industrial 
Legal  Aid  Society. 


Wage    Loan    Society    and 


47 


Key  No. 

Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Newspaper. 

$75,000.00  a  year. 

Classed  as  chattel  loan  agent,  but  does  salary 
loaning.  Reputed  to  be  the  cheapest  loan  agent 
in  the  city.  Rather  a  small  operator;  fair  repu- 
tation. Brother  of  No.  71,  who  recently  died. 


72    Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record:         Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate   Business:   $60,000.00  a  year. 


81     Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record:        First    State    Industrial 

Legal   Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $75,000  a  year. 


Wage    Loan    Society    and 


82-R    Salary  Loans. 

In   classified   directory   under   Salary   Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Recordj       First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $50,000  a  year. 


Remarks: 


Proprietor  is  a  woman;  supposed  to  be  No.  199. 


73     Salary  Loans. 

In   classified   directory 
Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Specialty: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


under   Salary   Loans. 

First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Newspaper. 

"Five-minute  loans." 

$100,000   a  year. 

Assistant  manager  is  credited  with  saying  they 
have  $20,000  out  at  5  and  10  per  cent  a  month 
and  above.  Proprietor  is  interested  in  loan  com- 
panies in  various  other  cities;  also  proprietor  of 
No.  175  and  No.  124.  Operated  extensively  in 
New  York  City.  A  very  long  record  in  the  First 
State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and  Legal 
Aid  Society. 


Chattel   Loans. 

In  classified  directory 

Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Incorporation: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


under  Chattel  Loans. 

First^  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Newspaper. 

Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 
pany was  incorporated  July  5,  1890,  for  the  fol- 
lowing purpose:  For  the  examination  of  titles 
to  real  and  personal  estate;  to  furnish  informa- 
tion upon  which  to  base  credit;  to  transact  a 
general  collecting  business,  etc.  The  name  was 
changed  August  20,  1903,  to  the  present  title. 

$100,000  a  year. 

Said  to  be  one  of  a  chain  of  offices  operating  all 
over  the  country.  Manager  said  to  be  brother  of 
the  owner  of  No.  116. 


48 


Key  No. 
87     Salary  Loans. 


In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Woman  proprietor  First    State    fndustrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 

$50,000  a  year. 

Intimates  intention  of  retiring. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


S-22-114-65-R. 

Salary  Loans. 
In  classified  directory 
Woman  proprietor. 
Loan  Shark  Record: 

Incorporation: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


under  Salary  Loans. 

First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 
pany was  incorporated  Sept.  20,  1882,  for  the 
purpose  of  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  dry- 
goods.  The  charter  was  canceled  July  1,  1902, 
for  default  in  filing  annual  report." 

$100,000   a  year. 

Founded  by  an  attorney,  who  died  a  few  years 
ago.  Had  extensive  interests.  All  were  sold 
or  combined  with  the  above  after  his  demise. 
Widow  retains  interest,  although  she  is  in  an- 
other class  of  business.  Roster  of  associates 
and  owners  show  that  stockholders  from  sev- 
eral cities  in  three  states  were  interested  in 
these  various  companies. 


89     Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

$100,000  a  year. 

Ownership  the  same  as  No.  160;  formerly  also 
of  No.  140.  Operates  two  offices;  deals  with 
street  car  employes.  Advertises  as  chattel  loan 
company,  but  does  salary  loaning  also. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


90-111-173. 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory 
an  Individual  and 
Loan  Shark  Record: 

Incorporation : 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


under  Chattel  Loans   (two  entries  in  directory  as 

a  company). 
First    State    Industrial    Wage   Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 

Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 
pany was  incorporated  March  1,  1910,  for  the 
following  purpose:  For  the  examination  of 
titles  to  real  estate;  to  furnish  information  upon 
which  to  base  credits;  to  transact  a  general  col- 
lecting business  and  maintain  an  office  or  offices 
where  notes  or  other  evidences  of  indebtedness 
may  be  made  payable." 

$125,000  a  year. 

A  particularly  obnoxious  concern;  same  ownership 
as  No.  173.  Long  records.  Classed  as  a  chattel 
loan  agency,  but  has  also  salary  loan  record. 

49 


Key  No. 

91-113 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
Newspaper. 
$80,000  a  year. 
Owned  by  Boston  capital.    Said  to  be  conducted  by 

same  management  as  No.  113. 


94-78-28 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Newspaper. 
$80,000  a  year. 
Said  to  be  owned  by  No.  28.    Very  long  record  with 

above  societies. 


95-160 


Chattel   Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $50,000  a  year. 
Remarks:  Same  ownership  as  No.   160. 

tired  with  several  millions. 


Original  owner  re- 
(R.) 


96-158 


Salary  Loans: 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


Unclassified. 

Legal  Aid  Society. 

$75,000  a  year. 

Said  to  have  been  proprietor  of  No.  158;  originally 
owned  by  two  old  women,  who  are  said  to  have 
been  "skinned"  out  of  their  interest.  Was  for- 
mer head  of  a  loan  shark  association. 


101    Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Merchant  Tailors. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Incorporation: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Incorporated  as  a  tailoring  company. 

$60,000  a  year. 

Operates  under  the  guise  of  a  merchant  tailoring 
company;  owner  credited  with  being  the  treas- 
urer of  the  "Loan  Shark  Clearing  House." 


102-185-135-31-R 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans  (two  entries). 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

$250,000  a  year. 

Advertises  in  telephone  directory  as  an  individual 
under  Salary  Loans  and  as  a  company  under 
Chattel  Loans.  Described  by  those  who  know 
him  as  "square,"  but  has  exceedingly  long  record 
with  above  societies.  Inquirers  for  No.  31  are 
referred  to  this  company. 


Key  No. 
103-197-171-52-R 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
$50,000  a  year. 
Proprietor  has  long  record  with  above  societies; 

a  brother  of  No.  115,  though  business  is  not  so 

extensive. 


105 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Woman  manager. 

Loan  Shark  Record : 

Approximate  Business 

Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

$60,000  a  year. 

This  woman  (styled  and  Company)  is 

"backed"  by  a  firm  of  well-known  printers  who 
do  not  wish  their  connection  to  be  known. 


110-R 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 
Woman  proprietor. 
Loan  Shark  Record: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and  Legal 
Aid  Society. 

$75,000  a  year. 

This  concern  is  owned  by  a  woman  whose  hus- 
band assists  in  the  business,  which  she  inherited 
on  her  father's  death. 


112-R-169 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society. 


Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


Newspaper. 

"Five-minute  loans." 

$60,000  a  year. 

Same  proprietorship  as  No.  169.  One  of  the  "while 
you  wait"  firms,  which  assures  you  that  a  record 
elsewhere  will  not  prevent  your  getting  loans 
with  them. 


113-91-R 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

Newspaper. 

"While  you  wait"  five-minute  loans. 

$80,000  a  year. 

Very  extensive  record  with  above  societies;  owned 
by  Boston  capital;  classed  as  salary  loan  com- 
pany, but  has  record  of  chattel  loans. 

51 


Key  No. 
115-197-R 


Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans   (two  entries). 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Newspaper. 
Salary   loans   of   $5   in   five  minutes,   and   chattel 

loans  up  to  $200  in  one  hour. 
$300,000  a  year. 

Claims  to  be  the  most  liberal  in  the  business. 
Offers  seductive  inducements  to  parties  who  Have 
been  refused  elsewhere.  "$150.00  to  a  man  mak- 
ing $12  a  week."  "If  you  have  been  refused, 
don't  think  you  cannot  get  it."  Operates  two  of- 
fices; has  one  of  the  longest  records  of  complaints 
with  above  societies.  Well  informed  persons 
state  that  proprietor  (R)  the  largest  operator  in 
the  city. 


117-R 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory 

Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 

Specialty: 

Incorporation: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


under  Salary  Loans. 

Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

Newspaper. 

"While  you  wait"  loans. 

Secretary  of  the  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This 
company  was  incorporated  July  6,  1899,  for  the 
following  purposes:  For  the  purpose  of  rais- 
ing, collecting,  harvesting  and  dealing  in  leaf 
tobacco;  to  purchase  and  own  real  estate  in 
connection  with  said  business,  and  to  transact 
any  legitimate  business  coming  within  the  prov- 
ince of  this  corporation  as  regards  the  purchase 
and  sale  of  personal  property." 

$80,000   a   year. 

This  company  is  run  on  Boston  capital  (R). 


120 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
Prominent  display  in  telephone  directory. 
$100,000  a  year. 
An    extensive    operator;    classified    under 


chattel 


loans,  but  does  considerable  salary  business. 


123-76 


Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

$60,000  a  year. 

An  old  telegraph  operator,  once  in  company  with 
No.  76,  operating  a  collection  agency;  dealing 
mostly  with  telegraphers;  recently  said  to  have 
purchased  the  business  interests  of  No.  33,  but 
late  indications  are  that  the  latter  is  still  in  busi- 
ness. 


52 


Key  No. 

124-73-175 

Salary    Loans. 
In  classified  directory 
Woman  manager. 
Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


under  Salary  Loans. 

First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Newspaper. 

$75,000   a   year. 

Owned  by  one  of  the  largest  operators;  proprietors 
also  of  No.  73  and  No.  75.  Advertises  that  he 
refuses  no  one  and  does  not  notify  your  friends 
or  employer.  Uses  the  same  address  as  No.  73, 
but  has  another  telephone  number. 


128-21-67 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Woman  proprietor. 

Loan  Shark  Record: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

$50,000  a  year. 

So-called  real  estate  dealer  controlled  this  com- 
pany. He  recently  died  and  his  widow  is  con- 
tinuing the  business  at  the  old  stand.  Same  own- 
ership as  No.  67. 


129-80-181-205 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan   Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $40,000  a  year. 


Remarks: 


Owner  is  proprietor  also  of  No.  80  and  No.  181, 
which  were  found  at  the  same  address  but  with 
different  telephone  numbers.  A  former  associate 
of  No.  205.  Both  of  them  belonged  to  the  well 
known  so-called  "Logansport  bunch."  Nos.  129, 
80  and  81  seem  to  be  practically  one  firm  under 
several  names,  with  indications  that  No.  205  will 
soon  join,  if  it  has  not  already  done  so. 


36-143-R 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Incorporation : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan   Society. 
This  is  a  West  Virginia  Company,  with  a  license 

to  do  business  in  Illinois  in  1905. 
$75,000   a  year. 
Operated  by  a  well-known  party,  who  also  runs  a 

phonograph  shop.     Has  a  woman  manager. 


140 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :        Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 


53 


Incorporation: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Company  was  chartered  in  1904.  A  certificate  of 
dissolution  issued  in  1912. 

$125,000  a  year. 

Former  millionaire  owner  withdrawing  from  Chi- 
cago business,  sold  out  to  present  owner,  who  is 
said  to  have  worked  with  him  for  fifteen  years. 


Key  No. 
142-R 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Incorporation: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 
pany was  incorporated  April  30,  1903,  for  the  fol- 
lowing purpose, — To  conduct  a  general  collection 
and  commercial  reporting  business;  to  buy,  sell 
and  manufacture  merchandise  of  every  descrip- 
tion, and  to  establish  branch  offices,  factories 
and  places  of  business  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
ducting the  business  aforesaid." 

$100,000  a  year. 

Said  to  be  withdrawing  from  business  slowly,  has 
an  extensive  record,  exceedingly  active  at  times, 
using  large  display  advertisements.  At  one  time 
offered  a  premium  of  "a  solid  leather  bill  fold" 
to  every  person  making  a  loan  before  Christmas. 


148-R 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 
Advertising: 


Approximate  Business : 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Loan  Society  and  Legal  Aid 
Society. 

Newspapers  and  handbills,  the  latter  a  close  imita- 
tion of  a  bank  note  in  appearance,  the  back  of 
which  carries  a  short  table  of  rates. 

$100,000  a  year. 

The  manager  is  supposed  to  be  "backed"  by  his 
wife's  parents. 


149-50-160-R 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
$70,000  a  year. 
Original  owner  had  extensive  business  in  the  city, 

but  is  withdrawing  from  Chicago  affairs. 


151-167 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal    Aid    Society. 

$75,000   a  year. 

The  two  men  who  run  this  place  advertise  in  the 

telephone  directory  under  two  names  as  a  firm 

and   as  a  company. 


54 


Key  No. 
152-R 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Wage  Loan   Society. 

Newspaper. 

$80,000  a  year. 

Another  one  of  the  "five-minute  loan"  class,  who 
advertise  that  they  will  loan  any  man  or  woman 
steadily  employed  on  their  simple  promise  to 
pay.  The  manager,  recently  cited  before  Judge 

.  Landis,  maintains  a  fine  country  residence  in 
another  state. 


154-194 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 


Advertising: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


Newspaper,  also  distributes  business  cards  offering 
$1.00  commission  on  each  customer,  with  the 
added  inducement  that  "you  do  not  have  to  wait 
for  the  dollar  until  the  loan  is  paid  out." 

$80,000  a  year. 

Same  ownership  as  No.  194. 


157 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record:         Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $80,000  a  year. 

Remarks:  Convenient  to  street  car  terminal,  apparently  for 

business  purposes. 


158-96-R 


Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Incorporation : 


Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

The  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  This 
company  was  incorporated  Aug.  26,  1909,  for  the 
following  purpose:  To  investigate  and  report 
on  the  financial  condition  and  credit  of  individ- 
uals, firms  and  corporations;  to  appraise,  store, 
buy,  sell  and  deal  in  general  merchandise,  house- 
hold goods  and  effects,  and  any  and  all  other 
kinds  of  personal  property  not  prohibited  by  law, 
and  also  to  conduct  a  general  collection  business 
for  profit.  The  charter  was  canceled  March  31, 
1913." 

While  this  company  is  supposed  to  be  out  of  busi- 
ness, proprietor  is  still  actively  operating.  No.  96 
is  supposed  to  have  the  papers  of  the  concern. 
Two  old  women  formerly  owned  the  company; 
are  supposed  to  have  been  "skinned"  out  of  their 
interests  by  a  former  head  of  "Loan  Shark  As- 
sociation." 


Approximate  Business:    $60,000  a  year. 

55 


Key  No. 
159-89-172-160-R 

Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record: 
Advertising: 
Incorporation: 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

Newspaper. 

The  Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  This 
company  was  incorporated  June  14,  1899,  for  the 
following  purpose:  Examination  of  titles  to  real 
and  personal  estate,  to  furnish  information  on 
which  to  base  credits;  to  transact  a  general  col- 
lection business,  etc.  The  charter  was  canceled 
April  15,  1914." 

Note: — Before  charter  was  canceled  company  had 
changed  its  name  but  continued  to  operate  under 
old  one. 

$80,000  a  year. 

Took  up  the  accounts  of.  a  former  very  large  oper- 
ator, who  withdrew  from  business  to  further  his 
wife's  social  ambitions.  Same  concern  as  No. 
160.  Name  has  been  changed  once  or  twice. 


165 


Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan   Society  and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
$110,000.00  a  year. 
Claims  "a  clean  record  of  twenty-six  years."    Uses 

display  advertisement  in  telephone  directory. 


169 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 
Specialty: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Newspaper. 

Advertises  "Cash  in  your  pocket  in  ten  minutes." 
$80,000.00  a  year. 
Owner  also  of  No.   112. 


172 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal    Aid    Society. 
$150,000  a  year. 
Sold  to  his  manager  by  former  proprietor  of  No. 

160  and  No.  189,  for  same  reasons  as  indicated. 


174 


Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans;  also  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan    Society. 

Approximate  Business:    $80,000  a  year. 
Remarks:  Fair  reputation.     Man  and  sons  sometimes  style 

themselves  as  a  company. 

56 


Key  No. 

175 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and  Legal 

Aid  Society. 
$50,000  a  year. 
Long  record  in  above  agencies.    'Some  confusion 

with  No.  176.    Proprietor  is  also  connected  with 

several  companies   (No.   73  and  No.  124);    also 

does  business  in  New  York  City. 


176-153-R 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business 
Remarks : 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  telephone  directory  as  a  company  under  Chattel  Loans  and  as  an  in- 
dividual under  Salary  Loans. 
Woman  proprietor. 

First  State  Industrial  Loan  Society  and  Legal  Aid 

Society. 

$60,000   a   year. 

Two  companies  of  the  same  name  operate  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  city;  proprietor  of  this  is  a  well- 
known  woman,  whose  brother-in-law  is  also  in- 
terested in  the  business.  Owing  to  the  similarity 
of  names,  it  was  impossible  to  get  entirely  ac- 
curate information  as  to  number  of  cases  against 
this  company.  A  long  list  is  positively  connected 
with  it,  allowing  for  the  above.  Operates  as  a 
company  and  as  an  individual. 


178 


Salary  Loans. 

In  clasified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Approximate  Business :    $100,000  a  year. 


Remarks : 


Proprietor  is  a  lawyer,  who  was  said  to  have  re- 
tired from  practice.  Petition  for  disbarment  was 
filed  against  him  at  one  time  (1912),  but  he  is 
still  listed  in  the  classified  directory  as  "lawyer." 


179 


Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Advertising:  Newspaper  and  handbills  or  cards  adroitly  worded 

and  well  calculated  to  mislead. 


Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


$80,000.00  a  year. 

Styled  the  worst  firm  in  the  city;  much  trouble 
and  confusion  have  been  caused  by  the  similarity 
of  its  name  with  that  of  a  legitimate  and  well 
.conducted  business  enterprise.  Proprietor  said 
to  have  places  in  Pittsburgh  and  Philadelphia 
also. 

57 


Key  No. 

181-80 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and  Legal 

Aid  Society. 
$50,000    a   year. 
Owner   of   No.   80   owns   both   this   and    No.    129. 

Said  to  be  interested  in  No.  205  A. 


183 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

$70,000  a  year. 

Proprietors  are  man  and  wife;  latter  formerly  did 
business  under  her  maiden  name.  They  some- 
times now  call  themselves  by  a  firm  name  which, 
is  a  combination  of  the  two  names. 


188 


Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  clasified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 
Incorporation: 


Approximate  Business : 
Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois:  "This  company  was 
incorporated  February  24,  1900,  for  the  following 
purpose:  Carrying  on  the  business  of  buying 
and  selling  bonds  and  other  securities."  The 
charter  was  canceled  July  1,  1902,  for  default  ia 
filing  annual  report. 

$80,000  a  year. 

Supposed  connection  with  No.  179. 


191 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

$175,000  a  year. 

Proprietor  was  once  a  Metropolitan  employee,  a 
Jew,  and  said  to  be  "the  whitest  fellow  in  the 
business."  Loan  Shark  Clearing  House,  of  which 
he  is  "silent"  president,  was  at  one  time  said 
to  have  its  offices  in  his  parlor.  One  of  the  larg- 
est operators. 


193 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and" 
Legal  Aid  Society. 

Newspaper. 
$100,000  a  year. 

It  is  said  that  No.  11  deals  exclusively  in  their 
paper.  Apparently  same  owners  as  No.  37  and 
No.  11.  One  is  an  attorney.  Long  and  obnox- 
ious records. 


58 


NOTE: 

No.  193,  doing  business  in  the  Rector  Building,  is  a  concern  loaning 
money  at  usurious  rates  of  interest  (many  of  whose  clients  are  school 
teachers),  in  which  (R),  who  is  also  known  as  a  banker,  has  an  interest. 

When  an  installment  of  the  principal  and  usurious  note  is  not  paid  in 
accordance  with  its  terms,  these  notes  are  transferred  to  an  "Adjustment" 
company,  No.  11,  a  corporation,  whose  name  was  changed  on  the  2nd  day 
of  October,  1916.  Suit  is  then  begun  on  these  notes  by  this  "adjustment" 
company  through  its  attorney  and  agent,  who  is  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  No.  193,  and  judgment  is  taken,  including  attorney's  fees,  on  both  notes 
and  usurious  interest.  In  other  words,  while  this  corporation  exists  as  a 
separate  entity,  it  is  in  effect  the  collecting  agent  for  No.  193,  for  which 
purpose  it  seems  apparently  to  have  been  incorporated,  inasmuch  as  it 
handles  cases  of  no  other  firms.  In  so  doing  it  is  virtually  violating  the 
Illinois  statutes  (Kurd's  R.  S.,  1915-16,  p.  636,  Chap.  32,  Sec.  1),  which 
says  that  a  corporation  may  not  be  formed  in  the  manner  provided  by 
this  act  for  the  purpose  of  loaning  money. 

In  the  Statement  of  Claim  this  "adjustment"  company  alleges  on  oath 
that  it  is  an  "innocent  purchaser  for  value  without  notice"  of  these  notes. 

Key  No. 

194 

Salary  Loans. 

In   classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Specialty:  "Five-minute  loans."    Railroad  employes. 

Approximate  Business:    $100,000  a  year. 
Remarks:  Under  the  same  management  as  No.  154.    Very  long 

and  active  record. 


195 


196 


Chattel  Loans 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record :  Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:  $75,000  a  year. 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Newspaper. 

Small,  quick  loans,  $5.00  to  $25.00. 
$80,000  a  year. 
Proprietor  a  former  telephone  employe,  who  started 

in  a  small  way. 


199-132-133-82-R 

Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Woman  proprietor. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society. 

Remarks:  Same  ownership  as  No.  82. 


205 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :        Legal  Aid  Society. 

Remarks:  Known  as  one  of  the  "Logansport  bunch;"  once 

worked  with  No.  80;  recently  died  but  business 

is  still  going  on. 

59 


APPENDIX   A— NO.   H. 


Money  Lenders  not  in  the  Clearing  House  Against  Whom  There  Are  Definite  Loan 

Shark  Records. 
Key  No. 
24-1 

Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Investment  and  Securities. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

$100,000   a   year. 

In  classified  directory  as  an  individual  and  as  a 
company.  Conveniently  located  at  street  car  ter- 
minal; specializes  with  employes.  Proprietor 
a  lawyer,  artist  and  physician. 


Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         First   State    Industrial   Wage   Loan    Society. 

Approximate  Business:    $20,000   a   year. 

8-9-137-R 

Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         First    State   Industrial    Wage   Loan    Society. 

Approximate  Business:    $55,000  a  year. 

Remarks:  Bought  out  the  business  of  another. 


13 


Salary  Loans. 
Woman  proprietor. 
Loan  Shark  Record: 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
$30,000  a  year. 

Original   proprietor  committed  suicide  some  time 
ago.    Widow  states  she  intends  to  retire  soon. 


16 


Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

$70,000  a  year. 

Founder  is  dead;   sons  carry  on  business,  mostly 

with  surface  line  employes;    use  insurance  and 

and  real  estate  as  cover. 


19 


Salary  Loans. 

In  telephone  directory  as  Manufacturer's   Agent.      (Unclassified.) 

Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $30,000  a  year. 


23 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified   directory  under  Real   Estate. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
Remarks:  Reputed  to  deal  with  city  employes,  school  teachers, 

firemen  and  police.    Poses  as  a  real  estate  dealer, 

60 


commercial  paper  dealer  and  Insurance  agent. 
Said  to  be  church  trustee  with  social  aspirations. 
Said  to  have  had  a  "trapper"  who  received  $2.00 
apiece  for  each  victim  he  "steered"  in. 


Key  No. 
25 


Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Specialty: 

Approximate  Business : 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

Street  car  employes. 

$25,000  a  year. 

For  a  long  time  put  up  the  $25.00  deposit  once 
required  by  a  street  car  company  before  employ- 
ing men.  A  relative  of  a  cashier  of  the  Chicago 
Surface  Lines,  it  is  alleged.  Also  in  the  coal 
business. 


Salary  Loans. 

Women   proprietors — sisters. 

In  unclassified  telephone  directory. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
$75,000  a  year. 
Sisters  inherited  business;  one  since  married  but 

still  active:  described  as  "high-class"  woman. 


33     Salary  Loans. 

In  unclassified  telephone  directory. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society.     . 

$50,000  a  year. 

Once  described  as  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens 
of  a  prominent  suburb;  vast  wealth;  a  physician, 
retired  from  practice;  head  of  a  mail  order 
specialty  house;  most  actively  assisted  by  his 
sister.  Attracted  considerable  attention  because 
of  a  case  which  he  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
causing  a  law  regulating  wage  assignments  to 
be  declared  unconstitutional.  Said  to  have  re- 
cently sold  out  to  No.  123,  but  recent  communica- 
tion indicated  some  activity  in  this  line  still. 


45-192 


Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks  : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

$70,000  a  year. 

Proprietor,  a  well-known  department  store  mer- 
chant; a  brother,  now  dead,  was  founder. 
Specialized  with  city  employes. 


53     Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record : 

Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Once  the  superintendent  of  a  factory;  bears  a  good 

reputation;    business  a  side  line,  which  he  is 

closing  out  at  present. 

61 


Key  No. 

54     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  as  Lawyer. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Newspaper. 

Small,  quick  loans,   $5  to  $15.     Styles   himself  a 

"salary  loan  specialist." 
$60,000  a  year. 
Outside  assistance  has  frequently  been  sought  in 

settling  accounts  with  him. 


55     Salary  Loans. 
Woman  Manager. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Specialty: 
Approximate  Business: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
Street  car  employes. 
$75,000  a  year. 


63     Salary  Loans. 

Woman  Proprietor. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First    State    Industrial    Wage    Loan    Society    and 

Legal  Aid  Society. 
$60,000  a  year. 
Said  to  deal  only  with  high-class,  clerical;   "very 

fine    woman,"    not   her   real    name,   wife   of   a 

lawyer,  whose  name  only  appears  on  the  office 

door. 


67    Salary  Loans. 

Woman  Manager. 
Loan  Shark  Record: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

A  man  formerly  in  the  business  independently  is 
now  operating  in  this  office  or  connected  with 
it.  Manager  styled  a  sharp  business  woman  of 
fine  character;  widow  of  a  former  notorious 
operator. 


78-28-194 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans   (listed  twice,  as  a  company 

and  an  individual). 
Loan  Shark  Record :    Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Newspaper. 
"Five-minute  Ipans." 
$150,000  a  year. 

Owner  one  of  the  most  active  in  business;  con- 
spicuous in  recent  bankruptcy  proceedings 
brought  by  victim;  cited  before  Judge  Landis; 
formerly  manager  of  No.  194.  Very  long  record 
of  complaints  with  above  societies. 


Advertising: 
Specialty: 

Approximate  Business 
Remarks : 


83     Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record : 
Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
$60,000  a  year. 

Is   in   real   estate   business   primarily.     Loans 
Jewish  people.     A  side  line. 

62 


to 


Key  No. 

97  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Investments  and  Securities. 

Loan  Shark  Record:         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 

Approximate  Business:    $80,000  a  year. 
Approximate  Business : 

98  Chattel  Loans. 

In  unclassified  directory  "Loans"  appearing  after  name. 
Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society. 
Approximate  Business:    $50,000  a  year. 


90-40  Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Investments  and  Securities. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

$75,000  a  year. 

Senior  member  is  owner  of  another  loan  associa- 
tion, No.  40;  same  address  but  different  tele- 
phone number. 


104-R 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Investments  and  Securities. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 

Specialty: 


Approximate  Business : 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Newspaper. 

Specializes  according  to  advertisements  with  the 
better  element  of  employes,  merchants  and 
manufacturers;  loans  less  than  $200  and  $300 
do  not  interest  them. 

$300,000  a  year. 

Proprietors  style  themselves  "private  bankers"; 
two  brothers,  apparently  partners,  credited  with 
being  the  most  suave  and  convincing  in  their 
arguments  and  methods  of  any  in  the  business. 

Use  the  name  of  " Loan  Credit  and 

Trust  Company." 


106     Salary  Loans. 

Woman  proprietor. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 

Approximate  Business : 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society  and  Legal 
Aid  Society. 

$10,000  a  year. 

Has  been  connected  with  several  well  known 
agents,  acting  as  manager  of  the  offices  or  a 
"dummy."  Investigation  discloses  her  working 
independently  under  the  name  of  a  company. 


122    Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  unclassified  directory  "loans"  after  name. 
Woman  Proprietor  and  Manager. 


Loan  Shark  Record: 

Advertising: 
Approximate  Business: 
Specialty : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Newspaper. 
$75,000  a  year. 
$5  and  $10  loans. 

63 


Key  No. 

131     Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record: 
Incorporation: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Firm  of  similar  name  was  incorporated  in  1904; 

identity  with  this  party  not  established. 
$40,000  a  year. 
Formerly  with  No.  64,  now  operating  independently. 


135     Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :  Legal  Aid  Society. 

Approximate  Business:  $50,000  a  year. 

Remarks:  Claims  to  be  a  real  estate  dealer  only. 


144-R 


Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 

Advertising: 
Specialty : 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

Newspapers. 

Small  loans  to  salaries  employes  and  women  house- 
keeping. 

$75,000  a  year. 

Former  manager  was  well  known  as  a  lobbyist  in 
loan,  shark  interests.  Owned  by  Pittsburgh 
capital;  one  of  a  string  of  offices  in  several 
cities;  may  have  a  partner.  Operates  in  Cleve- 
land, Pittsburgh  and  Cincinnati. 


145     Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record : 
Remarks : 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
Interested  in  another  line  of  business  on  the  south 
side;  an  employe  of  the  Michigan  Central. 


162-161 

Salary  Loans. 
Woman  Proprietor. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 
Specialty: 
Remarks: 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

School  teachers. 

Original  owner  dead;  public  administrator  has  ac- 
counts. Dealt  with  school  teachers.  Woman, 
former  associate,  does  business  to  a  limited  ex- 
tent in  real  estate  business.  "Only  two  will 
know  it"  was  the  slogan  of  this  firm.  Accom- 
modation on  old  conditions  and  rates  was  re- 
cently offered.  Formerly  did  chattel  loaning  also. 


163    Salary  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record : 
Remarks: 


First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 

Was  No.  121  in  old  official  list  of  Clearing  House. 


173-111-R 

Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Banks  and  also  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 

Loan  Society. 
Advertising:  Display  in  telephone  directory. 


64 


Specialty: 

Approximate  Business: 
Remarks: 


Loans  on  furniture. 

$300,000  a  year. 

Operates  several  offices.  Firm  is  made  up  of 
three  prominent,  well-known,  loan  agents.  Also 
operates  No.  90.  This  firm  is  considered  one  of 
the  most  dangerous  in  the  city  because  of  its 
title  and  the  fact  that  many  victims  are  In- 
veigled into  its  hands  under  the  impression  that 
it  is  a  legitimate  bank.  Very  long  and  conspicu- 
ous record  in  the  above  societies. 


Key  No. 

177-59-R 

Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 


Loan  Shark  Record : 
Incorporation : 


Approximate  Business : 
Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society. 

Secretary  of  State  of  Illinois  reports:  "This  com- 
pany was  incorporated  May  22,  1909,  for  the 
following  purpose:  To  examine  and  report  on 
the  financial  standing  of  persons  and  corpora- 
tions and  act  as  financial  agent  in  the  collection 
and  brokerage  business." 

$60,000  a  year. 

Proprietor  is  described  as  "very  decent  fellow." 
Has  record  under  own  name  and  as  company. 


162-R 


Salary  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record : 

Specialty: 
Remarks : 


Legal  Aid  Society  and  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 

Specializes  in  business  loans.    . 

Was  business  associate  of  well-known  operator  now 
in  penitentiary.  Claims  to  be  a  broker;  has  a 
license;  claims  usurious  interest  is  merely 
brokerage  fee;  was  No.  63  on  former  official  list 
of  Clearing  House. 


261    Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :         Legal  Aid  Society. 

Remarks:  This  company  was  started  in  the  spring  of  1916, 

but  has  already  achieved  a  record. 


237 


Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

Loan  Shark  Record :        Legal  Aid  Society. 


Advertising: 
Remarks: 


Newspaper. 

Uses  seductive  advertisement  philanthropic  in 
tone:  claims  to  run  "no  loan  office."  "If  you 

need  a  friend  and  money,  mail ." 

This  person  is  said  to  have  been  "black-balled" 
when  he  attempted  to  join  the  Clearing  House, 
principally  because  his  advertisements  were  said 
to  reflect  upon  the  profession. 


262    Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Loan  Shark  Record :    First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society. 
Remarks:  The  name  is  frequently  confused  with  another  very 

similar. 


65 


APPENDIX  A— NO.   III. 

Money  Lenders  Who  Are  Members  of  the  Clearing  House,  But  no  Cases  Have 
Been  Found  on  Record  in  the  Legal  Aid  Society  or  First  State  Industrial  Wage 
Loan  Society. 


Key  No.  '  . 

201  Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 
Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Approximate  Business:    $50,000  a  year. 

202  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Remarks:  One  of  the  "five-minute"  companies. 

Approximate  Business:    $75,000  a  year. 

203  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Remarks:  Advertises  as  an  individual  under  Salary  Loans;  in 

unclassified  as  a  Loan  Bank. 

215     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Remarks:  A  "ten-minute"  concern.     Proprietor  said  to  be  a 

relative  of  No.  171. 
Approximate  Business:    $90,000  a  year. 

206     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Remarks:  Said    to    operate    among   railway    employes.      Pro- 

prietor the  same  as  No.  102. 

79    Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 

Remarks:  Similar    name    but    not    connected    with    No.    124, 

No.  175  or  No.  73. 

Approximate  Business:    $100,000  a  year. 
232     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 

Remarks:  Located  near  a  prominent  southwest  side  "transfer 

point. 
Approximate  Business:    $100,000. 


251    Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Chattel  Loans. 
Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Remarks:  Runs   a  general   merchandise   business   in   connec- 

tion; apparently  loans  at  legal  rates  on  anything 
of  value. 

Approximate  Business:    $75,000  a  year. 

66 


APPENDIX   A— NO.   IV. 

Money  Lenders  Not  in  Clearing  House;  in  Active  Business  But  no  Records  Found 
Against  Them  in  Legal  Aid  Society  or  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan 
Society. 

Key  No. 

270     Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Salary  Loans. 
Approximate  Business :    $50,000  a  year. 

204     Salary  Loans. 

Remarks:  Connected  with  North-Western  R.  R.;    deals  with 

employes.  Takes  his  accounts  to  Wisconsin  and 
sells  them  to  supposedly  "innocent  third  par- 
ties," one  of  whom  showed  remarkable  knowl- 
edge of  loan  shark  methods  and  business  ac- 
counts in  a  recent  trial. 

218    Chattel  Loans. 

In  classified  directory  under  Bankers: 

Remarks:  Discounts  machinery  house  notes.  This  firm  said 

to  do  large  amount  of  "chattel  sharking"  where 
large  sums  only  are  involved. 

Approximate  Business:    $200,000  a  year. 

231     Salary  Loans. 

In  unclassified  directory. 

Remarks:  Supposed  connection  with  founder  of  No.  60  de- 

nied. Still  in  business  but  independently  on 
northwest  side. 

Approximate  Business:    $50,000  a  year. 

234    Chattel  Loans. 

Remarks:  Answered  "blind  ad"  in  Daily  Xews  July  20,  1916. 

Southwest  side. 

242     Chattel  Loans. 

In  telephone  directory  unclassified. 

Remarks:  Answered    "blind   ad"   in   Daily   News;    offered   to 

loan  $100  at  $2.00  per  week  or  10  per  cent,  per 

annum. 

259  Salary  Loans. 

In  classified  telephone  directory  under  Real  Estate  and  Loans. 
Remarks:  Operates  some  on  a  small  scale. 

260  Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 

In  telephone  directory — next  issue. 
Advertising:  Newspapers. 

Remarks:  Advertisement   appeared   lately   in   newspapers;    a 

new  concern. 
Approximate  Business:    $50,000  a  year. 

67 


Key  No. 

263  Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 
Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Specialty:  $10  loans  on  salaries,  furniture,  pianos,  etc. 

Remarks:  Lately  began  advertising  (within  a  few  weeks). 

264  Salary  and  Chattel  Loans. 

Not  yet  in  telephone  directory. 
Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Remarks:  A  new  firm   which   disclaims   connection   with   a 

former  agency  of  similar  name.     Specializes  in 
$10.00  loans  and  upward — at  reasonable  rates. 

265-R 

Salary  Loans. 

In  unclassified  directory. 

Advertising:  Formerly  advertised  loans  to  "high  class  salaried 

men." 

Remarks:  Formerly  in  business  with  another  man  but  now 

alone. 

Approximate  Business:    $75,000  a  year. 

266  Salary  Loans. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Specialty:  "Loans  to  high  class  salaried  people." 

267  Salary  Loans. 

In  unclassified  directory. 

Remarks:  Formerly. described  as  "loan  shark,  church  member 

and  dealer  in  municipal  bonds."    Said  not  to  be 
very  active  owing  to  ill  health. 

268  Salary  Loans. 

Advertising:  Newspaper. 

Specialty:  "$5.00  and  $10.00  loans." 


269     Chattel  and  Salary  Loans. 
Advertising:  N« 

Approximate  Business:    $60,000  a  year. 


Advertising:  Newspaper.     "Salary   and   furniture   loans  at  low 

rates." 


68 


APPENDIX  B. 

Regulation  of  Bates  of  Interest  on  Loans. 

I.     General  Interest  Regulations. 

Legal  Rate  Contract  Rate 

State                                                      Per  Cent.  Per  Cent 

Alabama    8  8 

Alaska   12 

Arkansas 6  10 

Arizona    6  12 

California    7  any 

Colorado    8  any 

Connecticut    6  6 

Delaware 6  6 

District  of  Columbia  6  10 

Florida 8  10 

Georgia    7  8 

Idaho    7  12 

Illinois  5  7 

Indiana    6  8 

Iowa   6  8 

Kansas  6  10 

Kentucky    6  6 

Louisiana    5  8 

Maine   6  any 

Maryland 6  6 

Massachusetts    6  any 

Michigan   5  7 

Minnesota   7  10 

Mississippi 6  8 

Missouri 6  8 

Montana    any 

Nebraska    7  10 

Nevada    7  any 

New  Hampshire   6  6 

New  Jersey    6  6 

New  Mexico   6  12 

New  York  6  6 

North  Carolina   6  6 

North  Dakota   7  12 

Ohio    6  8 

Oklahoma    6  10 

Oregon   6  10 

Pennsylvania   6  6 

Rhode  Island   6  any 

South  Carolina  7  8 

South  Dakota 7  12 

Tennessee   6  6 

Texas   6  10 

Utah   12 

Vermont    6  6 

Virginia 6  6 

Washington    6  12 

West  Virginia  6  6 

Wisconsin   6  10 

Wyoming    8  12 


69 


EC.     Digest  of  Laws  Relating  to  Organization  of  Societies  for  the  Purpose  of 
Making  Small  Loans. 

Prepared  by  Thurber  M.  Smith,  Investigator  for  the  Department 
of  Public  Welfare. 

(Societies  organized  under  the  following  special  laws  are  not  circumscribed 
by  the  general  regulations  as  to  legal  and  contract  rates  of  interest  laid  down  by 
their  respective  states,  as  indicated  in  Part  I  of  Appendix  B.  All  other  persons 
and  organizations  loaning  money  are  subject  to  them;  loan  sharks  fall  within 
this  latter  group.) 


CALIFORNIA:      Page  969  of  the   Statutes  of  1909,  as  amended  by  page  978, 


Statutes  of  1911. 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 
Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan : 
Licensing  Requirements: 
Limitation  on  Dividend: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


1909-1911. 

2  per  cent,  per  month. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

No  contract  shall  be  valid  if  interest  at  a 
greater  rate  is  charged  and  excess  may 
be  recovered  by  the  person  advancing  it. 

Violation  of  act  shall  be  punished  by  a 
fine  of  from  $50  to  $500,  or  imprisonment 
from  10  days  to  6  months,  or  both. 


COLORADO:     Session  Laws  of  1914, 
Date  of  Act : 
Interest  Rate  Allowed : 
Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed : 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


p.  400. 

April  12,  1913. 

2  per  cent,  per  month. 

None. 

None. 

All  companies  doing  a  loan  business  and 
charging  over  12  per  cent,  per  annum 

'  must  be  licensed  and  must  keep  register 
of  loans  made.  License  fee  $50;  bond 
$2,000. 

None. 

Person  who  has  paid  more  than  the  legal 
rate  of  interest  may  recover  treble  the 
amount  and  costs. 

A  violation  of  act  shall  be  deemed  a  mis- 
demeanor, punishable  by  fine  of  $25  to 
$300,  or  imprisonment  from  5  to  30  days. 


CONNECTICUT:     Chapter  238,  Acts  of  1907,  as  amended  by  Chapter  244,  Acts 

of  1911. 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 
Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 
Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 

Penalty  for  Violation : 


1907-11. 

1  per  cent,  per  month. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

Actions  by  the  lender  on  loans  violating 

the  Act  are  prohibited. 
Fine  up  to  $1,000;   imprisonment  up  to  6 

months,  or  both. 


70 


DISTRICT  OF  COLUMBIA:     Chapter  359,  of  laws  of  1913,  or  Chapter  26,  page 
657,  Statutes  at  Large,  1911-1913. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed : 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 


Licensing  Requirements : 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


1913. 

1  per  cent,  per  month. 

None  except  those  incurred  in  foreclosure 
proceedings.  In  foreclosure  proceedings 
no  attorneys'  fees  amounting  to  more 
than  10  per  cent  of  the  sum  shall  be 
allowed. 

No  loan  greater  than  $200  shall  be  made 
to  any  one  person. 

A  license  must  be  procured  to  loan  money 
at  a  rate  greater  than  6  per  cent.  Li- 
cense fee  $500;  bond  $5,000.  Must  keep 
register  of  loans. 

None. 

Upon  violation  of  the  interest  rate  the 
lender  shall  forfeit  to  the  borrower  all 
interest  collected  and  in  addition  a  sum 
equal  to  one-fourth  of  the  principal,  to 
be  deducted  from  principal  sum. 

Violation  of  the  Act  shall  be  punished  by 
a  fine  of  from  $25  to  $200  or  imprison- 
ment from  5  to  30  days,  or  both. 


FLORIDA:     Chapter  5960,  Laws  of 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed : 
Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan : 
Licensing  Requirements: 
Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


1909. 

June  12,  1909. 

10  per  cent,  per  annum. 
:    None. 

None. 

None. 

None. 

Anything  higher  than  10  per  cent,  per 
annum  is  usury  and  upon  violation  of 
the  interest  rate  the  entire  interest  is 
forfeited,  or  if  paid,  the  person  paying 
may  recover  double  the  amount.  This 
provision  does  not  apply  to  a  bona  fide 
transferee  of  negotiable  paper. 

None,  unless  the  interest  charged  amounts 
to  25  per  cent,  per  annum,  then  lender 
shall  forfeit  entire  sum,  principal  and 
interest,  and  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a 
misdemeanor,  punishable  by  fine  up  to 
$100  or  imprisonment  up  to  90  days  or 
both. 


GEORGIA:     Code  of  Georgia,  1914,  Chapter  12,  Sections  3426  to  3466. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed : 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed : 

Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 

Licensing  Requirements: 


1904-1908,  Apr.  15. 

5  per  cent,  a  month. 

None. 

None. 

Every  person  must  be  licensed,  either  by 
licensing  officer  of  city  or  county,  in 
order  to  engage  in  business  of  wage 
loans.  Fee  $1.50.  Bond  $500.  Must  keep 
records  open  for  inspection. 


71 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


None. 

Payment  of  excess  interest  by  the  bor- 
rower shall  be  considered  as  payment  on 
the  principal. 

Violation  of  the  interest  rate  allowed  shall 
be  considered  a  misdemeanor. 


ILLINOIS:     Acts  of  1913,  Sections  2694-1  to  2694-13,  or  page  699,  Section  218-230, 
Kurd's  Revised  Statutes  1915-16. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed : 

Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 

Licensing  Requirements : 


Limitation  on  Dividend : 


Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


1913. 

3  per  cent,  per  month. 

None. 

Amount  loaned  to  one  person  shall  not 
exceed  $250. 

Companies  incorporated  under  this  Act 
must  report  annually  to  the  auditor  of 
public  accounts,  who  has  the  power  of 
examination  and  supervision  over  such 
companies. 

Capital  stock  shall  not  be  less  than 
$25,000.  Corporation  must  keep  record 
of  loans  and  deliver  copies  of  all  papers 
to  borrower.  Bond  of  $5,000  filed  with 
the  County  Clerk  of  the  County  in  which 
business  is  carried  on.  Governor  of  the 
state  and  Mayor  shall  each  appoint  one 
director.  Number  of  directors  shall  not 
exceed  nine. 

Dividend  shall  not  exceed  6  per  cent  per 
annum. 

If  illegal  rate  of  interest  is  charged  con- 
tract is  invalid  and  right  of  recovery  to 
the  excess  above  the  rate  specified  ac- 
crues to  the  borrower  who  has  paid  such 
excess  rate.  Notes  secured  by  wage  as- 
signments must  state  this  fact  on  their 
face  and  are  subject  to  original  defenses 
in  the  hands  of  an  assignee.  Any  wage 
association  securing  notes  which  do  not 
state  this  fact  on  their  face  are  void. 

Any  director,  officer  or  employe  of  a  cor- 
poration organized  under  this  Act  who 
receives  compensation  in  excess  of  the 
legal  rate  herein  fixed  is  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor. On  conviction  shall  be  fined 
up  to  $100.00  or  imprisoned  up  to  6 
months,  or  both.  Attorney  General  shall 
take  the  necessary  legal  steps  to  wind  up 
the  business  of  the  corporation  violating 
the  Act. 


INDIANA:     Acts  of  1913,  p.  457,  or  Revision  of  1914,  Sections  8277-A  to  8277-H. 


Date  of  Act : 

Interest  Rate  Allowed : 

Other  Pees  and  Charges  Allowed: 

Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan : 

Licensing  Requirements: 


1913. 

2  per  cent,  per  month. 

$3.00  for  investigation  of  secured  loans. 

$250.00. 

Companies  making  loans  under  $250.00 
and  charging  interest  at  a  rate  more 
than  8  per  cent,  per  annum  shall  be  li- 
censed as  petty  money  lenders  by  the 

72 


Limitation  on  Dividend: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


Clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of  the  county 

in  which  they  do  business.    License  fee 

$50.    Bond  $2,000. 
None. 
Upon  violation  of  Act  loan  shall  be  null 

and  void  as  to  amounts  paid  in  excess  of 

the  amount  actually  loaned. 
Any  violation  of  Act  shall  be  deemed  a 

misdemeanor,    punishable   by   a   fine   of 

from  $10  to  $100  and  imprisonment  up 

to  30  days. 


IOWA:    Supplemental  Supplement 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 
Other  Fees  and  Charges: 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan 
Licensing  Requirements : 
Limitation  on  Dividend: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act : 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


to  the  Code  of  Iowa,  1915,  Section  3041-A. 

1915. 

2  per  cent,  per  month. 

Cost  of  drawing  papers $  1.00 

Examination:       10    per    cent,    when 

loan  is  under $50.00 

No  fee  greater  than   $  5.00 

A  recording  fee  if  required. 
:       None. 

None. 

None. 

If  suit  is  brought  on  usurious  contract, 
plaintiff  is  entitled  to  recover  principal 
sum  only,  but  must  forfeit  8  per  cent,  of 
principal  remaining  unpaid  to  State  for 
use  of  the  school  fund. 

Violation  of  interest  rate  shall  be  deemed 
a  misdemeanor,  punishable  on  conviction 
by  a  fine  of  from  $25  to  $500  or  im- 
prisonment from  30  to  90  days. 


MAINE:     Section  2  of  Chap.  46,  Revised  Statutes,  as  amended  by  Chap.  90  of 
the  Laws  of  1905,  as  amended  by  Chap.  979  of  the  Laws  of  1907. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed : 


Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 
Limitation  on  Dividend: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


1907. 

3  per  cent,  per  month  for  3  months  and 
thereafter  not  to  exceed  15  per  cent,  per 
year. 

$3.00  for  the  expense  of  making  the  loan. 

$200.00. 

None. 

None. 

All  loans  violating  this  Act  shall  bear 
interest  at  the  rate  of  6  per  cent  only, 
and  all  payments  in  excess  of  6  per  cent 
shall  be  applied  to  the  discharge  of  the 
principal. 

None. 


MARYLAND:     Laws  of  1912,  p.  1620,  Chapter  835,  amending  Sections  6  and  7 
of  Article  49  of  the  Public  General  Laws  of  Maryland. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed : 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed : 


April  11,  1912. 
6  per  cent,  per  annum. 
May  charge  following  fees: 
$5.00  for  $50.00  or  less. 
$6.00  for  $50.00  to  $100.00. 
5%     of    excess    additional    for    $100 — 

$1,000. 

2%%     of    excess    additional    for    over 
$1,000. 

73 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan : 
Licensing  Requirements: 
Limitation  on  Dividend: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


None. 

None. 

None. 

A  loan  in  connection  with  which  violation 
occurs  is  void  and  borrower  is  entitled 
to  recover  all  sums  paid  on  account  of  it. 
Assignment  of  wages  to  secure  usurious 
loan  is  void.  Art.  8,  Sec.  15. 

Fine  up  to  $100  for  the  first  offense;  fine 
up  to  $100  and  imprisonment  up  to  30 
days  for  each  subsequent  offense. 


MASSACHUSETTS:  Acts  of  1911,  Chap.  727,  as  amended  by  Acts  of  1912, 
Chapter  675,  as  amended  by  Chap.  347,  Laws  of  1913,  a*  amended  by 
Chap.  224,  Laws  of  1916  (lacking). 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed : 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed : 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation : 


1911-1912-1913. 

May  be  fixed  by  Supervisor  or  Loan  Agen- 
cies, not  to  exceed  3  per  cent,  per  month. 

None. 

$300.00. 

All  persons  making  loans  of  less  than  $300 
and  charging  more  than  12  per  cent,  per 
annum  must  be  licensed  by  the  Super- 
visor of  Loan  Agencies.  License  fee  not 
less  than  $100.  Bond  $5,000.  If  persons 
engage  in  business  without  a  license, 
they  may  be  fined  up  to  $500  or  impris- 
oned up  to  60  days,  or  both,  and  loans 
made  by  such  unlicensed  persons  are 
void. 

None. 

Upon  violation  of  interest  rate  the  bor- 
rower may  file  a  complaint  with  the  Su- 
pervisor of  Loan  Agencies  who,  after  a 
hearing,  may  order  excess  amounts  re- 
funded, or  may  make  such  other  order 
as  he  deems  necessary,  or  the  loan  may 
be  declared  void  by  the  court  upon  peti- 
tion of  the  borrower,  who  shall  receive 
back  the  unlawful  interest  collected,  with 
twice  the  legal  costs. 

Violation  of  Act  may  be  punished  by  finf 
up  to  $500  or  imprisonment  up  to  60 
days,  or  both,  and  the  license  may  be 
revoked  by  the  Supervisor  of  Loan 
Agencies. 


MICHIGAN:     Chapter  228,  Acts  of  1915. 


Date  of  Act : 

Interest  Rate  Allowed: 


Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 


1915. 

3  per  cent,  per  month  on  loans  of  $100  or 

less 
2  per  cent,  per  month  on  loans  of  $100 — 

$300 

$1  where  amount  is  $50  or  less 

$2  where  amount  is  over  $50 

Where  loan  is  for  less  than  4  months — 

$1  for  50  or  over 

50c  for  $50  or  less 

$300.00 


74 


Licensing  Requirements: 


Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


All  persons  making  loans  of  $3.00  or  less 
and  charging  over  7  per  cent,  per  an- 
num must  be  licensed  by  the  City  Clerk. 
License  fee  $50.  Bond  $1,000. 

If  interest  rate  is  in  excess  of  amount 
fixed  by  law,  the  loan  is  void  and  bor- 
rower cannot  be  made  to  pay  back  the 
money  received  or  any  part  thereof. 

Fine  no  to  $100  for  first  offense.  Fine  up 
to  $100,  revocation  of  license,  and,  in 
discretion  of  court,  imprisonment  not 
exceeding  60  days  for  the  second  of- 
fense. 


MINNESOTA:     Chapter  439,  Acts  of  1913.     Sections  5805  to  5811. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate: 

Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 
Penalty  for  Violation: 


1913. 

1  per  cent,  per  month. 
In  case  of  chattel  mortgages  where  pos- 
session is  not  taken  fees  may  be  charged 
in  addition  to  the  interest. 
$1.75  on  $20  or  less 
2.75  on     20  to  $45. 
3.75  on     45  to     75. 
4.75  on     75  to  150. 
5.75  on  amounts  over  $150. 

$200.00. 

Each  corporation  must  be  licensed  to  en- 
gage in  salary  loan  or  chattel  mortgage 
loan  business.  License  to  be  issued  by 
the  City  Clerk  or  corresponding  officer. 
Fee  $25.00.  Application  must  be  ac- 
companied by  affidavit,  stating  place  of 
business,  names  of  officers  and  man- 
ager; also  that  in  the  year  preceding  al- 
plieation  the  company  did  not  pay  over 
6  per  cent,  in  dividends. 

Six  per  cent.   ( 6<7r  ) . 

No  special  rights  given  by  Act. 

None. 


MISSOURI:     Page  545,  Acts  of  1913. 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


1913. 

2  per  cent,  per  month,  not  collectible  in 
advance. 

$1  50  for  examination  of  chattels. 

No  loan  greater  than  $300.00. 

In  cities  of  over  30.000  population  per- 
sons engaging  in  chattel  loan  business 
and  charging  over  8  per  cent  per  an- 
num must  be  licensed.  License  may 
be  granted  by  the  Mayor  of  the  city  and 
fee  may  be  fixed  by  ordinance.  Until  it 
is  fixed,  however,  it  shall  be  $25.00  and 
a  bond  of  $2,000  shall  be  given.  Every 
City  to  which  this  Act  now  applies  or 
hereafter  shall  apply  shall  have  the 
right  to  provide  by  ordinance  consist- 
ently with  this  Act  for  the  licensing, 
supervision,  regulation  and  control  of 
every  person,  firm,  partnership,  corpora- 


75 


Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


tion  or  association  within  its  jurisdic- 
tion that  is  engaged  or  desires  to  en- 
gage in  the  transaction  of  the  chattel 
loan  business  in  the  said  city  under  the 
provisions  of  this  Act. 

Upon  violation  of  the  Act  the  loan  shall 
be  void  and  the  principal  remaining  un- 
paid shall  be  forfeited  to  the  borrower. 

Violations  of  the  Act  shall  be  considered 
misdemeanors  punishable  by  fine  of 
from  $100  to  $500  or  imprisonment 
from  30  to  90  days. 


NEBRASKA:     Chapter  204,  Laws  of  1915. 


1915. 

10  per  cent,  per  annum. 

Brokerage  fee  of  l/10th  the  amount 
loaned.  Examination  fee  50c  on  loans 
up  to  $50. 

None. 

Must  be  licensed  to  engage  in  business. 
The  records  must  be  open  to  inspection 
by  the  Secretary  of  State.  License  fee 
$60.  Bond  $2,000. 

None. 

Upon  action  by  the  borrower  for  violation 
of  this  Act  the  lender  shall  forfeit  to 
the  borrower  both  the  principal  and  in- 
terest. 

Punishable  by  fine  from  $25  to  $100,  or 
imprisonment  from  30  days  to  3  months. 
Remarks:  Any  person  making  a  false  statement  to  secure  a  loan  shall  be 
fined  up  to  $25  or  imprisoned  up  to  ten  days. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


NEW  JERSEY:     Chapter  49  of  the 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 
Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 

Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


Laws  of  1914. 

1914. 

3  per  cent,  per  month. 
:    None. 

No  greater  loan  than  $300.00  to  one  in- 
dividual. 

Every  firm  in  the  business  of  loaning 
money  in  amounts  less  than  $300.00 
must  be  licensed  by  the  Commissioner 
of  Banking  and  Insurance.  License  fee 
$50.  Company  must  file  bond  of  $5,000.00 
with  Commissioner  and  submit  to  annual 
examination. 

None. 

Upon  violation  of  Act  loan  is  void  and 
borrower  entitled  to  recover  all  sums 
paid. 

Violation  of  Act  shall  be  deemed  a  misde- 
meanor. License  may  be  revoked  for 
violations. 


NEW  YORK:     Chap.  588  of  the  Laws  of  1915,  amending  Sec.  13  and  Art.  9  of  the 

Banking  Law  and  repealing  Chapter  518  of  the  Laws  of  1914. 
Date  of  Act:  1895-1915. 

Interest  Rate  Allowed:  2  per  cent,  per  month  not  chargeable  in 

advance. 


76 


Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 

Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 

Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 
Penalty  for  Violation: 


$2.00  for  loans  over    $50.00 
1.00  for  loans  under     50.00 

No  loan  shall  be  for  more  than  $200.00. 

Every  personal  loan  company  must  file  a 
bond  with  the  Superintendent  of  Banks 
in  amount  equal  to  l/10th  of  the  capi- 
tal stock  of  the  company  and  not  less 
than  $3,000,  which  must  be  renewed  an- 
nually. 

No  broker  shall  be  allowed  to  draw  profits 
of  more  than  12  per  cent,  on  the  origi- 
nal capital,  after  allowing  for  reason- 
able expenses,  under  penalty  of  being 
compelled  to  reduce  interest  charges. 

On  proof  of  violation  of  Act  debt  is  dis- 
charged and  security  void. 

Violation  shall  be  deemed  a  misdemeanor. 


Remarks:  Any  person  offending  against  any -provision  of  this  Act  is  a  com- 
petent witness  against  any  other  person  so  offending  and  shall  not  be  liable  to 
prosecution  for  such  violation  and  the  testimony  shall  not  be  used  against  the 
person  so  testifying.  (Section  370.) 

No  company  or  person  shall  publish  or  cause  to  be  published  any  statement 
as  to  rates,  credit,  etc.,  which  is  false  or  calculated  to  deceive,  or  he  shall  be 
considered  guilty  of  misdemeanor. 


OHIO:     Acts  of  1915,  Sections  6346-1 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 
Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 

Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act: 

Penalty  for  Violation:     . 


to  6346-10. 

May  11,  1915. 

3  per  cent,  per  month. 

f  1  00  inspection  fee  on  loans  up  to  $50. 
which  run  for  not  less  than  4  months. 

None. 

All  persons  charging  over  8  per  cent,  per 
annum  must  be  licensed  by  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Banks.  License  fee  $100. 
Bond  $2,000.  Applicant  shall  give  full 
information  to  the  Superintendent  as  to 
personnel  of  company  and  shall  submit 
to  inspection. 

None. 

On  violation  of  the  Act  contract  shall  be 
void. 

Punishable  by  fine  of  from  $50  to  $200  for 
first  offense:  $200  to  $500  and  imprison- 
ment up  to  6  months  for  second  offense; 
also  revocation  of  license. 


OREGON:     Chap.  219  of  the  General  Laws  of  1915,  repealing  Chapter  278  of  the 
General  Laws  of  1913. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 

Licensing  Requirements: 


1915. 

3  per  cent,  per  month.  Minimum  charge 
$1.00. 

None. 

No  loan  greater  than  $300  to  any  one 
person. 

Must  secure  license  to  loan  money  at  a 
greater  rate  than  10  per  cent,  per  an- 
num. License  fee  $100,  granted  only  to 
bona  fide  residents  of  the  State  of  Ore- 
gon. Bond  $1,000.  Company  must  keep 
register  showing  amount  loaned,  date 
loaned,  date  due,  rate  of  interest,  etc. 


77 


Penalty  for  Violation.  None. 

Limitation  on  Dividends:  -  No  special  rights  given  under  the  Act. 

Rights  of  Borrower  Under  Act:       Violation  of  Act  shall  be  considered  a  mis- 
demeanor. 

Remarks:  Any  assignment  of  salary  bearing  interest  greater  than  10  per 
cent,  shall  have  no  leyal  force  or  effect  unless  the  assignment  recite  on  its  face 
that  it  is  executed  to  secure  a  loan  made  in  conformity  to  this  Act  and  re- 
corded in  the  Loan  Register  of  the  lender. 


PENNSYLVANIA:      Chapter  432, 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 


Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing   Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


of   the    Acts    of    1915. 

1915. 

2  per  cent,  per  month  on  loans  up  to  $100. 

2  per  cent,  per  month  on  loans  from  $100- 
to  $300. 

No  charge  up  to  $15.00. 

$1  for  loans  from  $15  to  $50. 

$2  for  loans  of  $50  and  over. 

$300.00. 

License  issued  by  the  Banking  Commis- 
sioner. Fee  $50;  bond  $5,000.  Must 
make  full  statement  of  personnel  of 
company,  etc.,  in  application  for  li- 
cense. 

None. 

Person  paying  excess  interest  may  re- 
cover sum  paid,  with  interest  at  6  per 
cent,  and  a  penalty  of  $50.00. 

Fine  of  $500.00  for  first  offense;  fine  and 
imprisonment  up  to  6  months  for  each 
subsequent  offense. 


RHODE  ISLAND:    Chapter  838  of  the  Laws  of  1912;   amendment  to  Section  1, 
Chap.   434   of  the  Public  Laws  of  1909. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest   Rate   Allowed : 


Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed: 
Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 
Limitation  on  Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  under  Act: 

Penalty  for  Violation: 


1912. 

3  per  cent,  a  year  on  loans  over  $50.00; 

5  per  cent,  per  month  for  the  first  6 
months  and  thereafter  2%  per  cent,  per 
month  on  amounts  less  than  $50. 

None. 
None. 
None. 
None. 

Contract  in  violation  of  act  is  usurious 

and  void,  except  as  to  bona  fide  holders. 

Fine  up  to  $500.00  or  imprisonment  up  to- 

6  months. 


TENNESSEE:     Chapter  109  of  the  Laws  of  1905. 


Date  of  Act: 

Interest  Rate  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges: 


1905. 

6  per  cent,  per  annum. 
Lender  may  charge  for  investigating  se- 
curity as  follows: 

50c  for  loan  of  $5.00  or  less. 
70c  for  loan   from   $5.00  to  $10.00. 
$1.00   for  loan   from      11.00  to     20.00. 
1.50  for  loan  from     21.00  to     35.00. 
2.00  for  loan  from     36.00  to     60.00. 
6  per  cent,  of  amount  of  loan 
on  loans  over  $60.00. 

78 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing  Requirements: 


Limitation  on  Dividends: 


None. 

Every  firm  in  the  business  of  making 
loans  on  personal  property,  wages  or 
salaries  must  obtain  a  license.  License 
shall  be  issued  by  the  licensing  officer 
of  the  City  or  the  County  Clerk  if  out- 
side incorporated  city.  Bond  of  $1,500 
must  be  filed.  Record  of  loans,  renew- 
als, payment  of  interest,  etc.,  must  be 
kept  open  to  the  inspection  of  all  offi- 
cers of  the  laws  and  the  grand  juries 
on  penalty  of  revocation  of  license. 

None. 


Rights  of  Borrower  under  Act:     Paj-ments  made  in  excess  of  the  legal  rate 

shall  be  considered  as  payments  on  the 
principal. 

All  who  engage  in  business  without  li- 
cense shall  be  guilty  of  misdemeanor 
and  "grand  jury  is  hereby  given  inquis- 
itorial powers  over  all  violations  of 
Act." 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


VIRGINIA:    Chapter  156  of  the  Acts 
Date  of  Act: 
Interest  Rate  Allowed: 
Others  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 
Licensing   Requirements: 


Limitation   on   Dividends: 
Rights  of  Borrower  under  Act: 


Penalty  for  Violation: 


of  1906. 

March  12,  1906. 
6  per  cent. 

:  Lender    may    charge    fee    for    investigat- 
ing security: 

50c  on  $  5.00  or  less. 
75c  on       5.00  to  $10.00. 
$1.00  on     10.00  to     20.00. 
1.50  on     20.00  to     35.00. 
2.00  on  loans  over  35.00. 
Act  does  not  apply  to  loans  made  at  one 

time  in  amounts  over  $150.00. 
Must  be  licensed  in  order  to  conduct  busi- 
ness of  making  personal  property  and 
wage  loans.     Fee  $100.     Must  also  file 
bond,  $1,000,  with  the  Clerk  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court. 
None. 

Any  fee  in  addition  to  those  prescribed 
or  interest  in  excess  of  legal  rate  shall 
be  considered  as  payment  on  the  prin- 
cipal, and  the  license  of  the  person  so 
charging  may  be  revoked. 
None.  License  may  be  revoked  in  dis- 
cretion of  Circuit  Court 


Chapter  278  of  the  Laws  of  1905,  as  amended  by  the  Act  of 
July  23,  1915,  or  Chap.  79,  Sections  1685  to  1692  of  the  Revised 
Statutes  of  1915. 

1905-1915. 

10  per  cent,  per  annum. 

In  case  of  secured  loans  lender  may 
charge  a  fee  of  7  per  cent,  per  annum 
for  $100  or  less,  and  4  per  cent  per 
annum  over  $100. 

None. 


WISCONSIN: 


Date  of  Act: 

Rate  of  Interest  Allowed: 

Other  Fees  and  Charges  Allowed 


Limitation  on  Amount  of  Loan: 


79 


Licensing  Requirements:  Must    obtain    permit    from    the    Commis- 

sioner of  Banking  to  do  business  and 
books  are  open  to  his  inspection. 

Limitation  on  Dividend:  None. 

Rights  of  Borrower  under  Act:      All    contracts    reserving    a    greater    rate 

of  interest  than  10  per  cent,  per  annum 
shall  be  valid  as  to  the  principal  sum 
but  not  as  to  the  interest,  and  every 
person  who  has  paid  greater  than  the 
legal  interest  may  recover  treble  the 
amount  of  money  so  paid. 

Penalty  for  Violation :  Any   person   receiving  more  than  10  per 

cent,  interest  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of 
a  misdemeanor  and  subject  to  fine  and 
imprisonment. 


80 


APPENDIX    C. 
Loan  Shark  Documents. 
Form  No.  1. 

Chicago, 19 


STATEMENT^ 


For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  credit  from and  with  thiknowkdteof.  and  spec u 

see  to  Paragraph  is 
hereby  affirm  as  follows: 


For  ine  purpose  01  Detaining  credit  irom and  with  th- knowkJte  04.  and  sperul 

reference  to  Paragraph  199,  Section  97,  Chapter  33,  Revised  Statutes  of  Illinois  i  which  law  applies  to  obtaining  credit  by  false  representations).  I   d  > 
htrthv  iritrm  as  follows: 


My  full  name  is Age Married  or  Sinjle 

Employed  by ; 


For years.    Position Salary  f per payable. 

Working  under 

Formally  with for_ 


I for years,  where  I. 

formerly  lived for years,  where  I . 

I  have  accounts  with 


My  total  indebtedness  does  not  exceed  $ My  personal  property  is  »orth  f . 

Never  was  in  bankruptcy 


I  do  not  owe  any  money  lenders? 


Brothers . 
Sisters  


These  statements  are  made  for  the  wle  purpose  of  securing  credit  from  you.  and  with  the  full  knowledge  on  my  part  that  if  they  are  not  true 
and  1  in  granted  a  loan,  it  will  be  securing  money  under  false  pretenses. 


-Ctt*U 


The  statement  which  is  given  to  the  applicant  to  fill  out  when  he  applies  for 
a  loan.  The  reference  to  Chapter  38,  Revised  Statutes,  is  particularly  impressed 
upon  him,  and  full  name,  no  matter  how  long,  is  insisted  upon.  Applicant  is  never 
considered  if  he  has  been  through  bankruptcy  proceedings. 

This  information  and  that  in  form  No.  5  is  particularly  valuable  to  the  "skip- 
hunter,"  as  the  tracer  is  called,  in  case  the  victim  decamps. 


81 


Form  Nos.  2-A  and  2-B. 


\a 

a 


31    JL*    S«|l* 
!   Sis   S-!?! 

§^:  !{S  ilfll, 

o^  i^i  HNf 
v^  ill  sjsi 
•15  m*s? 


82 


Two  notes  are  then  made  out,  one  for  the  principal  and  one  for  the  "pre- 
mium," as  they  call  it.  These  are  made  payable  to  self  and  indorsed  by  the 
applicant  making  loan,  and  are  negotiable.  If  this  indorsement  is  by  accident 
overlooked,  the  word  "myself"  is  stricken  out  and  the  loan  agent's  name  inserted. 
In  signing  this  note,  the  applicant  signs  an  agreement  binding  him  to  greater 
possible  expense  than  the  "premium,"  and  also  a  power  of  attorney,  also  agreeing 
to  certain  waivers  of  legal  rights  which  are  inalienable  if  he  were  aware  of  the 
fact,  which  he  generally  is  not.  In  case  of  protest  by  applicant  or  refusal  to  pay, 
the  second  or  "premium"  note  is  filed  or  destroyed  and  the  principal  note  is 
taken  as  basis  of  action,  which  is  unlikely,  as  it  embodies  a  contract  for  more 
than  originally  agreed. 


Form  No.  3. 


Cswislderatlew.  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  ......................  i  ...................  ,  the  receipt  «f  whkh  I*  hereby 

•  ?k  nowledgtd.  1  berebv  sell,  transfer  and  ict-ovtr  to  ................  .""  .................  hi*  heirs  legal  representatives  and  at<igns. 

all  salarv,  w»ge*  (and  claims  for  same).  earned  and  to  be  earned,  and  all  other  claims  and  demand*  due  me  or  to  become  d-.«  mt  from  any 
peracn.  firm,  company  or  corporation  by  whom  I  am  now  employed  or  may  hereafter  be  employed,  and  who  does  or  may  owe  me  money  for 
any  consideration  whatsoever,  until  each  and  every  of  say  said  obligations  to  Mid  asvicnce  are  paid;  and  1  hereby  authorize  and  dn«ct  any 
person,  firm,  company  or  corporation  who  i*  indebted  to  me.  and  re^efvine  notice  of  this  assignment,  tw  pav  any  and  all  amrjunta  cf  money 
held  to  mv  credit,  to  the  holder  of  this  inslr  umcru;  and  I  hereby  authorize  and  empower  the  holder  hereof  to  receive  said  amount  or  amount* 
and  receipt  for  same  in  my  name. 


In  consideration  of  his  interest  in  the  subject-matter.  I  hereby  irrevocably  appoint  • 


my  said  assignee,  his  heirs  leenl  representatives  and  assigns,  the  indebtedness  obligation  and  liability  aforesaid  and  I  do  hereby  covenant 
and  agree  that  I  will  not  and  that  my  heirs,  legal  representatives  and  assigns  shall  not.  find  no  person,  whether  employer  01  otherwise, 
ahall  for  me  or  to  my  bene'it  or  advantage  deny  the  due  and  lawful  execution  of  said  assignment  or  assignments  made  in  pursuance  and  by 
virtue  hereof,  or  in  anv  mannerqaestion,  dispute,  litigate  or  controvert  the  validityof  same:  acd  1  hereby  ratify  aod  coniiim  all  acu  that 
•y  said  attorney  may  do  hereunder. 

Witness  my  hand  and  seal  «t  Chicago.  111.,  this day  of A.  D..  191... 


Form  No.  3  is  a  wage  assignment  and  power  of  attorney  combined,  of  the  most 
iron-clad  type,  representing  ' '  many  years  of  experience  and  much  thought  to 
cover  every  possible  loophole  for  evasion"  on  the  victim's  part.  Two  instruments 
are  combined  here,  as  in  No.  1,  principally  to  avoid  exciting  fear  or  suspicion  by 
the  presence  of  too  many  documents.  To  the  unintiated  it  appears  concise  and 
businesslike — rarely  read,  rarely  understood. 


Form  No.  4. 


Folio 


W 

o 

w 


CO 

HH 

K 
H 


No  extensions  granted  under  any  circumstances. 
Each  payment  must  be  promptly  made  ON  the  day 
it  is  due. 

Bring  or  send  this  with  each  payment. 


w 
w 


t-1 

O 

»< 

2! 
O 

O 

O 

f 
f 
w 
n 

H 
O 


o 
o 
O 

cj 


w 
r 
w 

> 

H 
O 


O 

w 


The  receipt  form,  the  only  receipt  which  is  given.  Date  and  amount  is 
entered  at  time  of  payment,  and  nothing  else  except  the  initials  of  the  party 
receiving  payment,  sometimes.  Note  that  no  name  or  address  appears  upon  it, 
and  plain  envelopes  are  always  used. 


84 


Form  No.  6. 


Name. 
With_ 
Street. 
Res._ 


Phone . 


A  concise  record  of  the  whole  account  is  kept  on  this  blank  and  filed.     This 
is  in  addition  to  regular  books,  in  case  of  accident. 


Form  No.  5. 

A  pplicant  's  Name_ 
"Position 


Date 


Employer 
Home  Address 


1st  Reference 


2nd  Reference 


3rd  Reference 


Date   Wanted 

Private  memorandum  blank  for  use  of  the  loan  agent  only.  On  this  he  notes 
all  general  information,  also  any  peculiarity  or  particulars  which  might  be  of 
advantage  in  the  event  of  trouble. 

85 


APPENDIX  D. 

The    National   Federation   of   Remedial   Loan   Associations. 

I.     Members  of  the  Federation.** 

Organized 

1  Collateral  Loan  Co.,  Boston  Mass.   Thomas  J.  Reid,  Gen.  Mgr 1859 

2  Workingmen's  Loan  Assn.,  Boston,  Mass.   T.  A.  Richardson,  Mgr. .Apr.  1888 

3  Economy  Building  &  Loan  Co.,  Cleveland,  Ohio.    D.  H.  Pond,  Pres.  Dec.  1892 

4  St.  Bartholomew's  Loan  Assn.,  New  York,  N.  Y.    J.  R.  Ferguson, 

Mgr Feb.  1894 

5  Provident    Loan    Society    of    New   York,    N.    Y.     Frank    Tucker, 

Vice-Pres May  1894 

6  Worcester  Collateral  Loan  Assn.,  Worcester,  Mass.    C.  E.   Burn- 

ham,  Treas Nov.  1896 

7  Workingmen's  Loan  Association,  Providence,  R.  I.   Chas.  F.  Bige- 

low,  Mgr Jan.    1898 

8  Chattel  Loan  Assn.  of  Baltimore  City,  Md.  W.  N.  Finley,  Mgr May  1898 

9  First  State  Fawners' Society,  Chicago,  111.   Samuel  Wolfort,  Mgr. .  .Nov.  1899 

10     Citizens'  Mortgage  Loan  Co.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio.    Hugh  Cavanaugh, 

Mgr June  1900 

*11     Society    for    Savings    and    Loans    of   Washington,    D.    C.     J.    T. 

Exnicios,  Treas Jan.    1905 

12  Provident  Loan  Society  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.   J.  H.  Rubin,  Mgr Feb.  1905 

13  Newark  Provident  Loan  Assn.,  Newark,  N.  J.   Wm.  F.  Davis,  Mgr..  Apr.  1905 

14  Workingman's  Collateral  Loan  Co.,  Cleveland,  Ohio.  A.  D.  Bald- 

win, Secy Apr.  1906 

15  Provident  Loan  Society  of  Detroit,  Mich.  John  E.  Ryan,  Mgr July  1906 

16  Chattel  Loan  Co.,  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.   F.  E.  Stroup,  Treas Jan.    1910 

17  Equitable  Loan  Assn.,  Minneapolis,  Minn.    R.  C.  Glidden,  Mgr.... Apr.  1910 

18  Provident  Loan  Society,  St.  Louis,  Mo.    C.  M.  Kelly,  Mgr June  1910 

19  People's  Provident  Association,  Louisville,  Ky.   R.  M.  Rutherford, 

Mgr Oct.  1910 

20  Remedial    Provident   Loan    Association,    Paterson,    N.    J.    F.    X. 

Meegan,   Mgr Nov.  1910 

21  Welfare  Loan  Agency,  Kansas  City,  Mo.  M.  M.  Powers,  Supt Dec.  1910 

22  Provident  Loan  Society,  Seattle,  Wash.    H.  C.  Henry,  Pres Jan.    1911 

23  People's  Loan  Co.,  Portland,  Me.  C.  A.  McCarty,  Treas Dec.  1911 

24  Chattel  Loan  Society  of  New  York,  N.  Y.    L.  D.  Mapes,  Mgr Feb.  1912 

25  Provident  Loan  Society,  St.  Paul,  Minn.    D.  S.  Coffey,  Mgr Feb.  1912 

26  Utica  Provident  Loan  Assn.,  Utica,  N.  Y.   George  E.  Upson,  Mgr..  .Mar.  1912 

27  Provident  Loan  Assn.,  Sioux  City,  Iowa.   A.  L.  Whitmer,  Pres. ...Apr.  1912 

28  Indianapolis  Public  Welfare  Loan  Assn.,  Indianapolis,  Ind.   C.  R. 

Jones,  Mgr Nov.  1912 

29  San  Francisco  Remedial  Loan  Assn.,  San  Francisco,  Cal.    Albert 

C.  Auger,  Mgr Dec.  1912 

30  Provident  Loan  Society,  Rochester,  N.  Y.  F.  A.  Phillips,  Mgr Dec.  1912 

31  Remedial  Loan  Society,  Buffalo,  N.  Y.  Charles  H.  Brown,  Jr.,  Mgr.  Jan.    1913 

32  Onondaga    Provident    Loan    Assn.,    Syracuse,    N.    Y.     Erasmus 

Pellenz,  Mgr Mar.  1913 

86 


33  Duluth  Remedial  Loan  Assn.,  Duluth,  Minn.   Harry  E.  Berg,  Mgr. .May  1913 

34  Equitable  Collateral  Loan  Co.,  Youngstown,  Ohio.   John  E.  Taylor, 

Mgr June  1913 

35  First  State  Industrial  Wage  Loan  Society,  Chicago,  111.    Arthur 

E.  Hill,  Mgr Nov.  1913 

36  Portland  Remedial  Loan  Assn.,  Portland,  Ore.  C.  Myers  Herrman, 

Mgr : Feb.  1914 

37  Provident  Loan  Society,  Dallas,  Tex.   M.  J.  Jacobus,  Mgr June  1914 

38  Remedial  Loan  Company  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.    Frank  S.  Benson, 

Mgr Oct.  1914 

39  Toronto  Municipal  Loan  Assn.,  Toronto,  Ontario.    W.  P.  Morgan, 

Secy Dec.  1914 

40  Lynn    Remedial    Loan    Society,    West    Lynn,    Mass.     Arthur    J. 

Northrup,  Mgr Apr.  1915 

*Resigned. 

"According  to  Convention  Proceedings,  1915.     The  Proceedings  for  1916  are  not 
yet  published. 


II.     Constitution  of  the  Federation: 

NAME.  This  organization  shall  be  known  as  The  National  Federation  of 
Remedial  Loan  Associations. 

OBJECT.  The  object  of  the  organization  shall  be  to  encourage  the  formation 
of  local  organizations  and  to  aid  and  direct  persons  interested  in  the  work  and 
who  contemplate  organizing  remedial  societies,  giving  information  and  advice 
concerning  legislation,  finance,  problems  of  administration,  and  general  informa- 
tion necessary  for  organization  and  management. 

MEMBERSHIP.  Subject  to  the  decision  of  the  Executive  Committee,  all  socie- 
ties shall  be  admitted  to -membership  that  have  been  organized  to  make  small 
loans  at  reasonable  interest  rates,  and  have  given  evidence  of  their  social 
purpose  by  limiting  the  returns  that  they  shall  pay  to  their  shareholders  to  a 
reasonable  rate,  in  accordance  with  the  investment  standards  of  the  communities 
in  which  they  operate. 

The  annual  membership  dues  shall  be  $25.00;  societies  admitted  during  the 
fiscal  year  of  the  Federation  shall  pay  a  proportionate  amount  for  such  part  of 
the  year  as  they  shall  be  members. 

OFFICERS.  The  officers  of  the  Federation  shall  be  -a  Chairman  and  a  Secre- 
tary-Treasurer. These  with  seven  others  appointed  annually  by  the  Chairman 
shall  constitute  the  Executive  Committee.  Any  vacancies  occurring  between 
conventions  shall  be  filled  by  the  Executive  Committee. 

This  Federation  shall  be  affiliated  with  the  national  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction  and  shall  meet  annually,  wheresoever  practicable,  as  a  part  of 
the  National  Conference,  endeavoring  to  bring  its  particular  problems  to  the 
attention  of  the  Conference  and  benefiting  by  the  work  of  the  Conference  in 
general. 


87 


BUREAU  OF  INFORMATION. 

OUTLINE    OF    SOCIAL    SURVEYS    IN    PROGRESS    OR    RECENTLY    COM- 
PLETED,   REGISTERED   WITH   THE   BUREAU    OF    INFORMATION. 

The  need  of  a  central  bureau  of  registration  or  clearance,  where  accurate 
and  definite  classified  information  may  be  obtained  of  what  is  being  done  or 
contemplated  in  the  Chicago  field  of  social  research,  has,  no  doubt,  been  experi- 
enced by  those  who  have  undertaken  a  survey  or  investigation.  Realizing  the 
importance  of  having  such  information  centralized,  as  a  means  of  avoiding 
duplication,  saving  time  and  effort,  and  promoting  efficiency  in  social  research 
work,  as  well  as  for  its  own  use  and  purposes,  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare 
has  complied  a  catalogue  of  all  Chicago  surveys,  studies  and  investigations  relat- 
ing to  the  physical  city,  the  people  of  the  city  and  their  activities.  In  the 
catalogue  are  also  listed  books,  reports  and  pamphlets  bearing  upon  Chicago 
issued  by  governmental  agencies,  civic  and  social  organizations,  and  private 
individuals.  Articles  appearing  in  magazines  and  other  periodicals  since  1910 
are  entered,  and  maps  and  charts  illustrating  social  conditions  are  described. 

The  value  of  this  Catalogue  depends  upon  its  completeness,  and  the  success 
of  this  undertaking  will  depend,  in  a  large  measure,  upon  the  co-operation  and 
team  work  of  the  agencies  in  registering  with  the  Bureau,  surveys,  studies  or 
investigations  contemplated  or  entered  upon.  It  is  useful  to  all,  all  should 
strive  to  make  it  useful. 

It  is  hoped  by  repeated  announcements  in  the  Bulletin  to  arouse  interest 
and  enthusiasm  and  awaken  the  social  workers  to  a  realization  of  the  advant- 
ages of  such  central  registration. 

An  outline  of  the  more  important  surveys  recently  completed  or  in  pro- 
gress in  Chicago,  recorded  with  the  Bureau  of  Information,  follows:  A  few  of 
these  have  been  outlined  by  the  person  in  charge  of  the  work. 


Intensive    Tuberculosis    Survey.     By    the   Municipal    Tuberculosis    Sanitarium. 
Sept.,  1916,  to— 

The  Municipal  Tuberculosis  Sanitarium  is  making  an  intensive  survey  of 
eight  square  miles  of  Chicago  bounded  by  North  avenue,  Twenty-second  street, 
Ashland  avenue  and  State  street.  This  district  embraces  some  of  the  worst 
districts  of  Chicago,  as  far  as  the  number  of  tuberculosis  cases,  congestion, 
poverty  and  poor  housing  are  concerned. 

The  purpose  of  this  survey  is  essentially  educational  and  with  the  hope 
of  arousing  the  community  to  the  betterment  of  conditions  existing  in  this 
section.  The  method  of  making  this  survey  is  as  follows: 

The  eight  square  miles  are  divided  into  two  divisions,  one  north  and  one 
south,  the  north  division  being  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Clarence  L.  Wheaton 
and  the  south  four  miles  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  John  Ritter.  The  whole 
survey  is  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Thomas  A.  Hogan.  Each  four  miles  is 
divided  into  four  districts  a  mile  square,  each  under  the  direction  of  a  super- 
visor. Each  supervisor  in  turn  has  four  field  men  working  under  him.  In 
other  words,  each  field  man  has  a  quarter  of  a  square  mile  as  his  particular 
territory. 

A  house  to  house  canvass  is  made,  including  factories,  and  particularly 
factories  in  which  food  is  manufactured  or  handled,  as  well  as  restaurants, 
hotels,  etc.  Each  individual  is  examined  and,  if  found  to  be  tubercular,  com- 
plete report  is  made  out  and  sent  to  this  office,  where  the  information  is  de- 
tailed. This  tally  consists  of  social,  natal,  occupational,  housing  and  clinical 
details. 

88 


The  superintendents  and  supervisors  are  old  dispensary  men,  trained  in 
tuberculosis  work,  of  many  years'  experience.  All  of  the  field  men  are  physicians 
and  the  majority  of  them  are  taken  from  Civil  Service  list. 

In  addition  to  the  statistical  tally  sheets,  we  have  a  map  on  a  scale  of  200 
feet  to  the  inch,  upon  which  all  deaths  from  tuberculosis  during  the  year  shall 
be  spotted,  as  well  as  each  case  of  tuberculosis.  This  spot  map  shall  be  used 
as  an  exhibit  for  educational  purposes. 

We  estimate  that  this  survey,  which  began  September  1st,  shall  take  from 
six  to  eight  months  to  be  completed. 

THOMAS  A.  HOG  AN,  Medical  Director. 

Oook  County  Survey  of  the  National  Committee  of  the  Mental  Hygiene  Society. 

Dr.  Herman  M.  Adler,  Assistant  Professor  of  Psychiatry,  Harvard  University, 
until  recently  Chief  of  Staff  of  the  Boston  Psychopathic  Hospital,  has  com- 
menced a  study  of  the  facilities  for  dealing  with  mental  disease  and  mental 
deficiency  in  Cook  County,  Illinois.  This  survey,  from  which  most  important 
results  are  expected,  is  made  at  the  request  of  the  Committee  on  Local  and 
State  Charities  of  the  Chicago  City  Club  and  of  the  Illinois  Society  for  Mental 
Hygiene.  It  will  be  under  the  general  direction  of  the  National  Committee  for 
Mental  Hygiene  and  expenses  will  be  met  by  a  special  appropriation  made  by 
the  Rockefeller  Foundation.  Dr.  Adler  will  devote  his  whole  time  for  a  period 
of  at  least  six  months  to  this  survey  and,  with  the  co-operation  of  public  officials 
and  private  agencies  and  individuals  interested,  will  be  able  to  give  to  Cook 
County  a  report  of  great  value  in  setting  up  constructive  and  scientific  methods 
of  attacking  what  is  probably  the  County's  greatest  problem. 

Miss  Frances  Porter  is  associated  with  Dr.  Adler  in  this  survey  and  the 
services  of  other  workers  to  cover  special  departments  of  this  investigation  will 
be  secured. 

(Summary  from  outline  by  Dr.  Adler.) 


Industrial  Survey  of  Chicago. 

By  the  University  of  Chicago,  School  of  Commerce  and  Administration,  under 

the  direction  of  Prof.  F.  M.  Simons. 
The  following  industrial  surveys  are  in  progress: 

1.  The  Incidence  of  Industrial  Location. 

2.  Investigation  of  Stock  Handling  and  Stock  Handling  Standards. 

3.  Investigation  of  Forms  used  in  Connection  with  Various  Methods  of 
Handling  Orders  in  the  Wholesale  Grocery  Business. 

4.  Field  Work  in  connection  with  Advanced  Work  in  Industrial  Organiza- 
tion. 

1.  The  Incidence  of  Industrial  Location. — In  this  work  an  attempt  is  being 
made  to  plot  the  actual  locations  of  twenty-seven  of  the  principal  manu- 
facturing industries  of  Chicago.  This  work  is  being  done  in  co-operation 
with  the  City  Club  and  the  Chicago  Board  of  Underwriters. 

Briefly,  the  work  consists  of  plotting  on  a  series  of  base  maps  and 
with  distinctive  designations  the  locations  of  the  various  plants  of  the 
industries  involved.  The  work  is  by  nature  slow  and  painstaking,  and 
will  occupy  a  considerable  period  of  time.  As  a  result  of  this  survey 
it  is  hoped  to  be  able  to  work  out  the  factors  of  industrial  location  in 
the  Chicago  district,  and  to  secure  information  which  might  be  used  for 
districting  purposes,  or  for  the  rational  location  of  individual  industrial 
establshments. 

2.  Investigation  of  Stock  Handling  and  Stock  Handling  Standards.    This 

work  is  being  conducted  in  co-operation  with  the  Western  Efficiency 
Society  and  with  the  Chicago  Association  of  Commerce.    Questionnaires 

89 


on  stock  handling  have  been  prepared  by  experts  in  the  practical  field 
and  approved  by  the  auditors  of  two  of  the  largest  corporations  in  the 
city. 

These  questionnaires  are  now  in  the  hands  of  undergraduate  stu- 
dents, who  are  making  the  field  investigations  under  the  joint  super- 
vision of  their  instructor  and  several  interested  business  men.  The 
actual  field  work  has  been  under  way  for  but  a  few  weeks,  but,  in  view 
of  the  practical  character  of  the  questionnaires  and  the  co-operation 
which  is  being  secured,  all  are  optimistic  as  to  the  possibilities  for 
setting  up  useful  standards. 

3.  Investigations  of  Forms  Used  in  Connection  with  Various  Methods  of 

Handling  Orders  in  the  Wholesale  Grocery  Business. — This  is  again  a 
question  of  standard  practice  and  an  attempt  to  find  out  actual  condi- 
tions of  operation.  The  usefulness  of  such  a  survey,  from  the  stand- 
point of  accounting  and  administrative  control,  is  apparent. 

4.  Field  Work  in  Connection  with  Advanced  Work  in  Industrial  Organiza- 

tion.— This  work  is  in  the  nature  of  a  co-operative  research.  About 
thirty  advanced  students  are  working  on  an  average  of  five  hours  a 
week  in  the  co-operating  plants,  studying  the  processing  and  organiza- 
tion problems  of  the  plant,  and  making  weekly  reports  which,  while 
available  at  all  times  to  the  plant  executive  concerned,  are  confidential 
in  character. 

The  degree  of  co-operation  secured  in  this  work  constitutes  a  real 
tribute  to  the  open-mindedness  of  our  Chicago  business  executives.  The 
matter  was  put  up  to  them  as  an  opportunity  of  giving  a  group  of  in- 
terested young  men  an  insight  into  actual  manufacturing  conditions, 
and  they  were  told  frankly  that  there  would  be,  in  all  probability,  no 
practical  returns.  The  degree  of  co-operation  secured  has  been  very 
full  and  satisfactory,  and  the  students  are  undoubtedly  securing  an  un- 
usual opportunity. 

NOTE  IN  RESEARCH  No.  2: 

In  conclusion  there  should  be  mentioned  a  co-operative  research 
plan  under  which  Research  No.  2  is  being  conducted.  The  Stock 
Handling  questionnaire  now  in  the  field  is  one  of  a  series  of  ques- 
tionnaires involving:  (a)  purchasing  methods;  (b)  stock  handling; 
(c)  time  and  motion  study;  (d)  organization.  Questionnaires  for  all 
four  investigations  are  complete. 

The  Purchasing  questionnaire  has  been  tried  out  in  the  field,  and 
some  forty  replies  have  been  secured,  but  the  committee  is  as  yet  un- 
willing to  publish  any  results,  inasmuch  as  they  feel  that  the  intensive 
methods  used  should  be  checked  by  further  extensive  work  before  any 
attempt  at  generalization  is  made. 

The  other  questionnaires  have  been  tried  out  in  only  a  limited 
way,  but  sufficiently  to  test  out  their  practical  usefulness.  The  plan 
now  is  to  push  the  Stock  Handling  research  to  completion  before  at- 
tempting to  put  the  other  investigations  in  the  field. 

P.  M.  SIMONS. 

Survey  of  the  West  Side  Y.  M.  C.  A.  District. 

For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  information  concerning  its  neighborhood  on 
which  to  base  a  constructive  program  of  future  activities,  the  West  Side  Branch 
of  the  Chicago  Y.  M.  C.  A.  is  conducting  a  social  survey  of  its  field.  The  terri- 
tory included  is  bounded  by  Kinzie  street  on  the  north,  the  River  on  the  east, 
Twenty-second  street  on  the  south  and  Rockwell  street  on  the  west.  The  sur- 
vey is  being  conducted  under  the  following  heads:  industrial,  educational,  relig- 
ious, recreational,  governmental  agencies,  social  service  institutions,  hotels  and 
lodging  houses,  vacant  lots,  assembly  halls,  saloons  and  pool  halls,  formal  or- 
ganizations, etc.  Maps  are  being  prepared  to  show  the  location  of  the  various 
items  sought,  and  schedules  are  being  used  to  record  information  concerning 
each  of  them.  The  field  work  is  being  done  by  graduate  students  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  College,  under  the  direction  of  Earle  E.  Eubank. 

90 


Survey  of  the  Thirty-second  Ward.     By  the  Educational  and  Civic  Department 
of  the  Ridge  Park  Woman's  Club.     October  1,  1915,  to   

A  survey  of  the  entire  ward  is  being  made  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Frank 
Kapple.  Questionnaires  are  being  used  and  information  secured  on  all  con- 
structive and  destructive  agencies  in  the  community — churches,  schools,  play- 
grounds, parks,  polling  places,  moving  picture  theatres,  pool  rooms  and  saloons. 

This  survey  will  appear  in  published  form.  A  map  of  the  ward  embodying 
this  data  has  been  made  and  may  be  consulted  at  the  Ridge  Park  Field  House, 
Ninety-sixth  street  and  Maiden  parkway. 

Moving  Picture  Theatre  Investigation.    By  the  Chicago  Political  Equality  League. 
November,  1915,  to  April,  1916. 

This  survey  was  made  with  the  purpose  of  discovering  the  proportion  of 
plays  having  objectionable  features;  violations  of  the  law  as  to  pink  permits, 
bad  ventilation,  non-observance  of  fire  ordinance,  etc.  The  points  covered  by 
the  schedule  included  name  of  theatre,  proprietor,  maker  of  films,  posting  of 
permits,  admission  of  minors,  name  of  play,  character  of  plot,  with  special 
reference  to  its  moral  effect. 

The  survey  covered  every  ward  in  the  City  of  Chicago.  Mrs.  Guy  Blanch- 
aril,  Chairman  of  the  Moving  Picture  Committee,  conducted  the  survey,  assisted 
by  forty-five  sub-chairmen,  one  from  each  police  precinct,  and  precinct  workers, 
comprising  a  working  staff  of  over  four  hundred  women. 

This  survey  has  not  appeared  in  printed  form,  but  the  files  and  reports  are 
accessible  by  applying  to  Mrs.  Florence  B.  Gray,  Tel.  Wellington  6166,  Secretary 
of  the  Chicago  Political  Equality  League. 

Citizenship  Survey  of  Jewish  Residents.    By  Chicago  Hebrew  Institute.    October, 
1915,  to  August,  1916. 

A  survey  of  the  territory  within  the  Nineteenth  Ward.  The  objective  of 
this  survey  was  to  secure  facts  regarding  citizenship  of  neighborhood  Jewish 
residents.  Twenty-one  hundred  families  were  visited  and  the  following  data 
secured  by  schedule:  The  number  of  immigrants  who  had  become  citizens;  the 
number  of  those  not  applying,  and  the  reasons  stated  for  such  failure;  the 
attitude  of  the  immigrant  toward  citizenship;  literacy  in  relation  to  citizenship, 
industry  and  citizenship. 

This  survey  was  made  under  the  direction  of  Phillip  L.  Seaman.  Miss  Lucille 
Windette,  Investigator.  It  is  now  in  process  of  publication. 

A  Survey  of  the  First  Ward.     By  The  Social  Service  Commission  of  the  Rock 
River  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Wabash  Ave.  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  one  of  three  churches  in  the 
heart  of  this  populous  ward,  the  other  two  being  Grace  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  and  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  field  ministered  to  by 
these  churches  was  once  characteristically  residential  but  now,  while  con- 
taining as  many  people  as  formerly,  is  crowded  with  rooming  houses,  cheap 
and  vile  lodging  houses  and  low  grade  places  of  amusement. 

In  order  that  the  church  might  put  on  a  program  of  activities  which  would 
meet  the  needs  of  the  area,  'the  commission  conducted  for  them  a  survey.  The 
work  was  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Rev.  R.  N.  Miller  of  the  Commis- 
sion. A  house  to  house  canvass  was  made  of  the  entire  ward  by  thirty  students 
from  Chicago  University  and  the  Methodist  Chicago  Training  School.  Special 
expert  canvassers  were  employed  with  responsibility  over  special  phases  of  the 
investigation.  The  points  covered  in  the  investigation  were  industrial,  recrea- 
tional, educational,  political  and  religious  conditions.  The  report  revealed  a 
situation  second  to  none  in  the  city  in  amount  of  vice  and  crime,  per  cent  of 
illiteracy,  amount  of  intemperance  and  general  immoral  conditions. 

The  comprehensive  survey  has  not  been  published  in  full.  Graphic  and 
telling  charts  have  been  made.  This  material  has  been  presented  by  the  pastors 
of  the  church,  Drs.  Pierce  and  Beck,  and  the  parish  visitor.  Miss  Beal,  to 
groups  of  social  and  religious  workers  throughout  the  city. 

The  survey  furnished  the  information  which  inspired  the  new  program 
of  service  the  church  has  undertaken  in  the  upper  South  Side  of  the  city. 

F.  O.   BECK.   Ph.D. 
91 


Bibliography 


SOCIAL  SURVEYS. 


The  Surveys  listed  in  this  Bibliography  have  been  added  to  the  surveys 
collection  of  the  Department  of  Public  Welfare.  This  material  is  not  for  dis- 
tribution, but  may  be  consulted  in  the  Department. 

The  classification  under  which  this  material  is  assembled  is  taken  from 
the  Russell  Sage  Social  Survey  Bibliography. 

PURPOSE   AND   METHOD. 

City  Surveys. 

Byington,  M.  F.    What  social  workers  should  know  about  their  own  committees. 

1912. 
Riley,  T.  J.     Sociology  and  social  surveys   (in  American  Journal  of  Sociology, 

v.  16,  pp.  818-33,  May,  1911). 

Rural  Surveys. 

Galpin,  C.  J.    Method  of  making  a  social  survey  of  a  rural  community.    1912. 
Galpin,  C.  J.  and  Davies,  G.  W.    Social  surveys  of  rural  school  districts.    1914. 

Special  Subject  Surveys. 

Ayres,  L.  P.    Educational  surveying.    July,  1915. 

Ayres,  L.  P.    School  surveys,  April,  1915. 

Buchner,  E.  F.    School  surveys,  1914. 

Curtis,  H.  S.    Playground  survey,  May,  1914. 

Stone,  J.  T.    Value  of  a  church  community  survey,  March,  1913. 


GENERAL  SOCIAL  SURVEY  REPORTS. 

City  Surveys. 

Belleville   (Kan.).     Belleville  social  survey,  by  E.  W.  Burgess  and  J.  J.  Sippy. 

Birmingham  (Ala.).  Smelting  iron  ore  and  civics,  by  P.  U.  Kellogg,  S.  M. 
Harrison  and  others,  1913. 

Coopersburg  (Pa.).    Coopersburg  survey,  by  T.  M.  Morrison,  1915. 

Fargo  (N.  D.).  Social  survey  of,  Fargo,  by  Social  Science  Department,  Fargo 
College  under  M.  C.  Elmer,  1915. 

Fort  William  (Can.).  Report  of  a  preliminary  and  general  social  survey  of 
Fort  William,  by  B.  M.  Stewart,  1913. 

Hamilton  (Can.).  Report  of  a  preliminary  and  general  social  survey  of  Hamil- 
ton, by  B.  M.  Stewart,  1913. 

London  (Can.).    London  survey,  1913. 

Los  Angeles  (Cal.).    Better  city;  a  sociological  study  of  a  modern  city,  1907. 

New  Haven  (Conn.).    Documents  of  the  Civic  Federation,  1909-15. 

Pictou  (Can.).  Report  of  a  preliminary  and  general  social  survey  of  Pictou, 
1915. 

SPECIAL  SUBJECT  REPORTS. 

Charities. 

Springfield  (111.).    Charities  of  Springfield,  by  F.  H.  McLean,  1915. 

Delinquency  and  Corrections. 

New  Haven  (Conn.).     Study  of  the  problem  of  girl  delinquency  in  New  Haven, 

by  M.  A.  Wiley,  1915. 

Springfield  (111.).    Correctional  system  of  Springfield,  111.,  by  Z.  L.  Potter,  1915. 
Topeka  (Kan.).     Delinquency  and  corrections,  by  Z.  L.  Potter,  1914. 

92 


Health. 

Atlanta  (Ga.).     Report  of  survey  of  the  Department  of  Health,  by  S.  G.  Lind- 

holm,  1912. 
El   Paso    (Texas).     Preliminary   report  of  the  health   survey  of  El   Paso,   by 

J.  P.  Rich  and  B.  L.  Arms,  1915. 

Galveston  (Texas).    Report  of  a  sanitary  survey  of  Galveston. 
Ithaca  (N.  Y.).    Survey  of  the  public  health  situation,  by  Franz  Schneider,  Jr., 

1914. 

Milwaukee  (Wis.).    Health  department,  Milwaukee,  by  S.  M.  Gunn,  1912. 
Topeka  (Kan.).    Public  health  survey  of  Topeka,  by  Franz  Schneider,  Jr.,  1914. 

Housing. 

Bridgeport  (Conn.).    Brief  survey  of  housing  conditions  in  Bridgeport,  by  U.  D. 

Brown,  1914. 
East  Orange  (N.  J.).     Report  on  housing  conditions  in  the  Oranges,  by  E.  R. 

Hall,  1915. 
Grand  Rapids   (Mich.).     Housing  conditions  and  tendencies  in  Grand  Rapids, 

by  U.  D.  Brown,  1913. 
Lawrence  (Mass.).     Report  of  the  Lawrence  survey,  by  R.  E.  Todd  and  F.  B. 

Sanborn,  1912. 

Minneapolis  (Minn.).    Housing  problems  in  Minneapolis,  1914. 
Pennsylvania.    Housing  conditions  in  Maine  line  towns,  by  Marion  Bosworth. 
Philadelphia  (Pa.).    Study  of  housing  and  social  conditions  in  selected  districts 

in  Philadelphia,  by  F.  A.  Craig,  1915. 

St.  Louis  (Mo.).    Housing  conditions  in  St.  Louis,  by  Charlotte  Rumbold,  1908. 
Wisconsin.    Housing  problem  in  Wisconsin,  1905-6. 

Industrial  Conditions. 

Springfield  (111.).  Industrial  conditions  in  Springfield,  by  L.  C.  Odenscrantz  and 

Z.  L.  Potter,  1915. 
Topeka  (Kan.).    Industrial  conditions  in  Topeka,  by  Z.  L.  Potter,  1914. 

Mental  Hygiene. 

Washington  (D.  C.).  Mental  defectives  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  by  E.  O. 
Lundberg,  1915. 

Municipal  Administration. 

Atlanta  (Ga.).  Organization  and  administration  of  the  city  government  of 
Atlanta  (exclusive  of  health  and  educational  departments),  by  H.  R.  Sands. 

Denver  (Col.).  Report  on  a  survey  of  certain  departments  of  the  city  and 
county  of  Denver,  1914. 

Los  Angeles  (Cal.).    Efficiency  in  Los  Angeles  city  government. 

Los  Angeles  (Cal.).  Administrative  methods  of  the  city  government  of  Los 
Angeles,  1913. 

Recreation. 

Indianapolis  (Ind.).     Indianapolis  recreation  survey,  by  F.  R.  North,  1914. 

Portland  (Me.).    Recreation  survey,  by  F.  R.  North,  1913. 

Providence  (R.  I.).    Recreation  survey  of  the  City  of  Providence,  by  F.  R.  North, 

1912. 

San  Francisco  (Cal.).     Public  recreation,  by  F.  R.  North,  1913. 
Springfield  (111.).    Recreation  in  Springfield,  by  L.  F.  Hanmer  and  C.  A.  Perry, 

1914. 
Schools. 
Butte   (Mont).     Report  of  a  survey  of  the  school  system  of  Butte,  by  G.   D. 

Strayer,  E.  P.  Cubberley  and  F.  P.  Bachman,  1914. 
Colorado.    General  survey  of  public  high  school  education  in  Colorado,  by  W.  A. 

Cook,  1914. 

Colorado.    Rural  and  village  schools  of  Colorado,  by  C.  G.  Sargent,  1914. 
Georgia   (Morgan  County).     Educational  survey  of  Morgan  County,  by  M.  L. 

Duggan,  1915. 

93 


New  York  (City).     Digest  of  the  New  York  school  inquiry,  1913. 

Reading  (Pa.).    Report  on  Reading  school  district,  1913. 

St.  Paul  (Minn.)  and  Waterbury  (Conn.).  Waterbury  and  St.  Paul  help-your- 
School  surveys,  1913. 

Wisconsin.  Preliminary  report  of  the  Committee  appointed  by  the  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Schools  to  investigate  educational  needs  and  conditions  in  Wis- 
consin, 1912. 

Vice. 

Denver  (Col.).     Report  of  Morals  Commission,  1913. 

New  York  (City).  Commercialized  prostitution  in  New  York  City,  by  G.  j. 
Kneeland,  1913. 


94 


CONTRIBUTIONS. 

COOK   COUNTY    SURVEY   OF    THE   NATIONAL    COMMITTEE    OF    THE 
MENTAL   HYGIENE   SOCIETY. 

(An  outline  of  this  Survey  appears  on  page  83.) 

Intelligent  American  cities  are  no  longer  attempting  to  deal  with  their 
great  problems  of  dependency  and  delinquency  by  measures  applicable  only  to 
groups  of  persons.  It  has  come  to  be  generally  understood  that  these  persons 
who,  for  one  reason  or  another,  become  a  charge  upon  the  community  must 
be  dealt  with  as  individuals  and,  as  individuals,  either  helped  to  self-support 
and  right  living  or  segregated  from  the  community  in  institutions  where  they 
may  receive  appropriate  care  and  education  or  live  out  their  lives  under  super- 
vision. We  recognize  now  that  the  success  of  efforts  for  the  economic  or  social 
reconstruction  of  an  individual  depends  chiefly  upon  that  individual's  personal 
resources,  and  that  among  these  resources  none  compares  in  its  importance  with 
his  mentality.  With  a  normal  mind,  severe  physical  and  economic  handicaps 
may  be  overcome;  with  a  mind  that  is  defective  from  birth  or  that  has  been 
damaged  by  disease,  the  best-planned  efforts  at  reconstruction  are  doomed  to 
failure.  Already  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  feeble-mindedness,  mental 
disease  and  other  maladjustments  underlie  an  enormous  proportion  of  the 
cases  of  dependency,  criminality  and  inebriety  which  heavily  tax  the  city's 
resources. 

Although  the  controlling  importance  of  mental  factors  in  such  problems 
have  come  to  be  widely  recognized,  the  method  by  which  a  community  can  best 
deal  with  these  factors  is  the  subject  of  the  widest  difference  of  opinion.  Experi- 
ments are  being  tried  in  one  place  which  have  failed  in  other  places  and  will 
fail  wherever  tried  because  they  are  not  based  upon  scientific  conceptions  of 
the  nature  of  mental  disease  or  mental  defects.  There  being  no  mechanism  in 
the  city  government  fitted  to  deal  with  all  phases  of  these  problems,  there  exists 
great  uncertainty  as  to  what  should  be  done. 

Fortunately,  these  are  not  wholly  matters  for  experiment.  Modern  studies 
of  psychiatry  have  provided  us  with  extremely  useful  means  of  diagnosis  and 
classification,  and  enough  work  has  been  done  already  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  to  show  which  methods  are  advantageous  and  economical  and  which 
are  disadvantageous  and  wasteful.  Perhaps  nowhere  in  the  United  States  has 
a  more  successful  attempt  been  made  to  bring  the  resources  of  the  study  of  the 
mind  to  bear  upon  the  solution  of  social  problems  than  in  Boston.  Here  the 
Psychopathic  Hospital  stands  ready  to  serve  the  community  in  whatever  way 
it  can.  The  parent  with  a  queer  child,  the  magistrate  with  a  problem  concerning 
delinquency,  the  teacher  with  a  difficult  pupil,  all  can  bring  their  troubles  to  the 
Psychopathic  Hospital,  and  there  secure  the  best  advicec  which  men  trained  in 
this  work  are  able  to  give. 

The  need  of  an  expert,  impartial  study  of  the  methods  of  dealing  with 
mental  diseases  and  mental  deficiency  has  been  recognized  recently  in  a  number 
of  different  places.  At  the  request  of  Governors  of  the  States,  State  boards 
of  control,  State  boards  of  charities  and  social  or  civic  organizations,  the 
National  Committee  for  Mental  Hygiene  has  conducted  or  is  at  present  under- 
taking such  studies  in  Tennessee,  Wisconsin,  South  Carolina,  Louisiana,  Cali- 
fornia, Connecticut,  Georgia  and  Texas. 

The  Mayor  and  the  Board  of  Estimate  of  New  York  City  have  seen  growing 
up  in  their  community  a  number  of  unorganized  attempts  to  deal  with  what 
are  apparently  different  phases  of  the  same  problem,  and  within  a  few  weeks 
a  special  committee  has  been  appointed  by  the  Mayor  consisting  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Accounts,  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Charities,  the  Commissioner 
of  Corrections,  the  Chairman  of  the  Parole  Board  and  the  Presiding  Justice  of 
the  Children's  Court,  to  present  a  constructive  plan  for  the  examination,  classi- 

95 


fication  and  proper  treatment  of  mental  defectives  who  present  perplexing  diffi- 
culties in  nearly  all  remedial  or  correctional  work  which  the  city  undertakes. 
The  Mayor's  Committee  has  requested  the  National  Committee  for  Mental 
Hygiene  to  make  for  it  just  such  a  survey  as  the  study  about  to  be  commenced 
in  Chicago  and  the  services  of  a  psychiatrist  of  wide  experience  has  been  secured. 
Thus  studies  of  the  same  subject  will  be  carried  on  simultaneously  under  the 
same  general  direction  in  the  two  largest  cities  of  the  country.  The  comparison 
of  conditions  and  remedies  which  will  be  possible  will  be  added  to  the  value  and 
interest  of  the  two  reports. 

DR.  HERMAN  M.  ABLER,  Director. 

THE  VISITING  TEACHEE  IN   CHICAGO  SCHOOLS. 

Through  the  co-operation  and  support  of  the  Chicago  Woman's  Club  a  type  of 
work  new  to  Chicago  has  been  inaugurated  in  the  Jones  School.  The  Visiting 
Teacher  is  no* novelty  in  New  York  and  Boston  where  the  work  has  proved  of 
great  value  for  the  past  ten  years,  but  the  experiment  has  never  before  been 
tried  here. 

The  position  was  filled  for  the  first  time  in  March,  1916,  and  has  been 
slowly  evolving  ever  since.  Without  duplicating  in  any  way  the  work  of  other 
departments,  the  Visiting  Teacher  seeks  to  bring  into  closer  co-operation  the 
school  and  the  family  in  the  interests  of  the  child,  so  that  through  an  extended 
knowledge  of  the  home  conditions  the  backward  and  difficult  may  be  more 
effectively  dealt  with  in  the  class  rooms. 

Each  Visiting  Teacher  must  work  out  her  own  field  of  action  in  relation  to 
the  needs  of  the  community  in  which  her  school  is  situated.  The  school  grows  to 
be  more  and  more  the  center  of  public  and  social  life  in  the  poorer  districts  of 
our  big  cities;  so  that  by  becoming  identified  through  every  possible  means  with 
the  life  of  the  community  the  Visiting  Teacher  can  further  the  co-operative 
influence  of  the  school. 

In  the  treatment  of  cases  coming  to  the  attention  of  the  Visiting  Teacher 
she  will  use  all  available  resources,  and  whether  the  need  is  relief,  or  employ- 
ment, or  a  doctor's  care  will  refer  the  case  at  once  to  the  proper  source. 

Following  up  the  boys  returned  from  the  Parental  School  suggests  a 
possible  line  of  work  badly  needing  attention.  In  the  case  of  four  boys  returned 
to  the  Jones  School  this  fall,  visits  have  been  made  to  the  homes  and  a  friendly 
relationship  established  with  the  parents.  The  boys  will  be  kept  track  of  and 
every  effort  made  to  interest  them  in  some  club  so  that  they  will  not  so  easily 
fall  into  old  habits. 

The  Community  Center  at  the  Jones  School  which  meets  twice  a  week,  will 
be  another  line  of  contact  between  the  parents  and  the  Visiting  Teacher,  and 
through  her  visits  to  the  homes  she  will  be  able  to  stimulate  interest  in  its 
different  activities. 

In  short  the  Visiting  Teacher  will  take  up  any  line  of  work  which  falls 
without  the  province  of  other  departments,  and  which  bears  on  the  social, 
physical,  or  moral  welfare  of  the  children. 

The  Visiting  Teacher  now  in  charge  of  this  new  work  in  the  schools  is  Miss 
Letitia  Fyffe.  It  is  hoped  that  this  work  will  later  be  taken  over  by  the  Board 
of  Education  and  such  activities  established  in  each  congested  district. 

CLYDE  A.  BROWN,  Principal  Jones  School. 


»137 


MB 

551 


RfrRE 


